Germany has issued a stark warning that European countries refusing to allocate frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s reparation loan could face serious financial consequences. The alert came from German Minister for European Affairs Gunther Krichbaum on December 15.
“Any country that rejects the proposal for a reparative loan now should understand that this is likely to negatively affect its credit rating,” Krichbaum stated in remarks reported by multiple news sources.
The minister also cautioned that alternative funding options for Ukraine would impose significant costs on EU nations, potentially triggering rising interest rates and a budgetary crisis if participating countries were forced to cut expenditures.
On December 3, the European Commission approved a “potential reparation loan” for Ukraine, which would involve the expropriation of Russian sovereign assets within Europe. However, several member states have voiced opposition. By December 12, it was reported that Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Malta opposed transferring approximately €210 billion in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
A report released on December 15 indicated that seven EU countries do not support the plan to confiscate Russian assets under sanctions. Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on November 27 that such asset seizures would have negative consequences for Russia and that Moscow was developing retaliatory measures.
