The European Union (EU) is preparing a legal document aimed at resolving internal objections and unlocking a proposed €140 billion loan to Ukraine, as the bloc seeks to exploit Russia’s immobilized central bank assets as collateral for the massive financing package.

“The commission is ready to present a legal text,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

“I cannot see any scenario where the European taxpayers alone will pay the bill,” she added.

The proposal hinges on leveraging proceeds generated by the frozen assets, most of which are held in Belgium through Euroclear, to back a long-term loan that Kiev urgently needs. Ukraine is projected to run out of funds by the second quarter of 2026, increasing the pressure on EU institutions to finalize the mechanism.

Belgium demands robust legal protections

Talks on the plan have stalled for months due to Belgian objections, with Brussels insisting it must not be exposed to disproportionate legal or financial liability. Belgian authorities have sought strong guarantees against potential litigation by Moscow, which owns the immobilized funds despite ongoing EU sanctions.

Belgium’s demands reflect growing concerns across parts of the bloc regarding the precedent such a move could set for sovereign assets held in European institutions, as well as fears of retaliatory measures should Russia challenge the action in international courts.

The European Commission’s forthcoming legal text aims to unify the bloc around a shared-risk approach, addressing Belgian concerns and preventing individual member states from bearing the burden of any legal fallout.

‘Coalition of the willing’

The move to finalize the loan comes as Ukraine’s most committed military and political backers, the so-called “coalition of the willing," continue intense negotiations over the evolving United States-sponsored peace proposal advanced under US President Donald Trump.

The group, which includes 30 countries and several international organizations, met via videoconference on Tuesday, resuming efforts to reshape the Trump plan. The meeting followed a weekend of discussions in Geneva, where European officials were stunned by leaked details of Washington’s initial draft, which they viewed as heavily aligned with Russian positions and had been negotiated without Ukrainian or European participation.

Read more: Trump drops back on Ukraine peace deadline ahead of US-Russia meeting

Rubio joins talks; Washington moves to revise proposal

For the first time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined the talks alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended remotely from Kiev. French officials had briefly speculated that Trump might personally join the session.

Two days after the Geneva meeting, Rubio confirmed that the original proposal, which had been devised jointly with Russia, was undergoing significant revisions. He said the US aim was to remove the most contentious elements and “better account for Ukrainian and European security interests,” addressing widespread concerns that the earlier draft undermined Kiev’s core demands and European strategic priorities.

Stabilize Ukraine’s finances or ending the war

The EU’s drive to mobilize frozen Russian assets and Washington’s ongoing political negotiations highlight an increasingly visible divergence in Western approaches to the war in Ukraine. European governments view the conflict as a direct security threat and insist that support must continue until Kiev’s full demands are preserved, reinforcing a strategy of sustained pressure on Moscow.

By contrast, the Trump administration is urging Kiev to accept concessions, arguing that prolonged fighting will erode Ukraine’s territorial integrity, strain Western armament capacity, and ultimately amount to a waste of resources. This approach reflects Washington’s desire to recalibrate relations with Russia, prioritize shared economic interests, and pursue a pragmatic path to ending the conflict.

A central factor shaping these competing strategies is the fate of Russia’s frozen assets in Europe. Whether deployed through shared investment mechanisms or leveraged as collateral for large-scale loans, the handling of these funds is increasingly seen as a decisive variable that could influence whether the conflict drags on or shifts toward negotiation. For many European leaders, mobilizing the assets is essential to sustaining Ukraine’s war effort, while Washington has seen the benefit they may have in stabilizing the region.
 
If approved, the €140 billion EU loan backed by Russia’s frozen assets would represent the largest single financing mechanism mobilized for Ukraine since the war began in 2022, though its legal complexity continues to divide the bloc.

Read more: Leaked Russian document helped shape US-backed Ukraine peace plan