As the war in Ukraine enters a critical period, the European Union (EU) has decided it must take responsibility for what it sees as a security threat in its neighborhood and is preparing to tackle some of the financial burden, perhaps even without the United States , according to the Associated Press agency.
The EU rarely makes decisions on international issues without the US, especially when it comes to major conflicts, but it hopes this decision will encourage others to step up.
This week, EU delegates worked on a proposal to provide Ukraine with a loan package worth up to 35 billion euros.
"The most important thing is that this loan will flow directly into your national budget," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told President Vladimir Zelensky last Sunday in Kyiv. "It will provide you with significant and much-needed fiscal relief."
Zelensky wants to buy weapons and rebuild Ukraine's devastated energy grid as winter approaches.
Almost 1.000 days after the start of the invasion, Russian forces are advancing in the east. The Ukrainian military has unstable control over part of the Kursk region in Russia, which temporarily boosted morale.
The US elections are approaching, and polls predict a close fight between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump, who has criticized US aid to Ukraine, said on Wednesday that Zelensky should have made concessions to Russian President Putin before the invasion began in February 2022.
The EU fears that Putin's victory would lead to deep uncertainty. The Russian armed forces are exhausted and currently unfit for another war, but the prospect of a future land grab in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland remains.
The EU loans are part of a plan by the Group of Seven major industrialized nations to use interest on around $250 billion worth of frozen Russian assets, most of which are held in Europe. This windfall is estimated to be around $4,5 to $5,5 billion annually.
Profit is at the heart of the G7 plan. The EU would give up $20 billion, the US $20 billion, and Canada, Japan and Great Britain $10 billion together, for a total of $50 billion. The scheme expires at the end of the year, before the next US president takes office.
The US wants to ensure that assets are locked up for at least three years to guarantee income. But EU member Hungary insists it only happens in six-month increments.
Europeans are wary of Trump's unpredictability. The EU hopes that if elected, Harris will enter the loan program as previously planned and reduce the EU's financial burden. But that remains an open question for now, and EU members say Ukraine's position is too precarious to hesitate.
Stallions in the US Congress last year over a $60 billion aid package starved Ukrainian troops of weapons and ammunition for months, resulting in "real consequences on the battlefield," according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Helping Ukraine in a military sense is a challenge for Europeans. They cannot do it alone and cannot match America's superiority in transportation, logistics and equipment, despite progress in strengthening their defense industry to supply arms and ammunition.
Discussions about the EU's share in the G7 loan package will be high on the agenda of the bloc leaders' summit in Brussels on October 17 and 18.
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