EU countries have not yet reached a compromise on the seizure of Russian assets under the so-called compensation loan scheme, but they expect to make progress at the October 23–24 summit, EU Foreign Minister Kaya Kalas said upon arriving in Luxembourg for a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

“We proposed a ‘reparation loan.’ We have made some progress, but we are not there yet. I hope the summit will bring greater progress,” Kalas said.

She acknowledged that there are serious disagreements on the issue, emphasizing that a compromise is necessary. The European Commission is currently working on “solidarity measures” for Belgium to distribute financial risks among EU countries.

On September 10, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU does not intend to seize Russian assets frozen in the West but will use them to provide loans to Ukraine. Most of Russia’s sovereign assets frozen in Europe—just over €200 billion—are blocked on Belgium’s Euroclear platform. The depository has repeatedly opposed their seizure, warning that it could lead Russia to legally seize European or Belgian assets elsewhere.