EU summit begins – statements by von der Leyen and Orbán completely contradict each other
Participants began gathering in Brussels for the year-end EU summit. Among the first to arrive were Ursula von der Leyen and Viktor Orbán, who have completely different views on the possible outcome of the reparation loan scheme supporting Ukraine.
According to von der Leyen, the ultimate goal of the current summit is to establish the conditions for lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, a decision on financing must be made.
Incidentally, European leaders already committed themselves at the October summit to standing by the Ukrainians and finding ways to support them. However, in the eyes of most EU leaders,
the only realistic option among the many alternatives is to use Russian assets frozen in Belgium.
Although Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has repeatedly voiced concerns about the use of the funds, he has never ruled out their implementation. Von der Leyen's confidence suggests that a compromise may be possible. Nevertheless, this is not absolutely necessary.
Last week, representatives of the member states agreed to freeze Russian assets, which were previously subject to renewal every six months, for an indefinite period. This was done in response to the emergency situation referred to in Article 122.
On Wednesday, some heads of government suggested that this would enable them to bypass Belgium, despite the fact that it holds around 90% of the funds immobilised in Europe.
This completely contradicts the statements made by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who spoke to the press shortly after the President of the Commission arrived.
As he said on Wednesday, he believes that lending based on Russian assets will not even be on the agenda.
He dismissed the idea as stupid and said that he was not interested in any guarantees because the whole thing was a dead end.
In reality, all signs point to this being the most important issue at the summit. However, many other important issues will also be addressed, including the Mercosur agreement, the financial framework for the next cycle and the dilemmas surrounding the migration pact.
We'll return with more details shortly.
Cover photo: EU
