The European Commission wants to give Ukraine a low-interest loan equivalent to 1,500 billion Swedish kronor to get by in the coming years.
The money will be provided using Russian state assets that have been frozen in European accounts, primarily at the Belgium-based securities institution Euroclear.
So far, however, Belgium is not on board with the idea. The country is worried about being sued for damages by Russia and wants other EU countries to step in and guarantee that the country does not have to stand alone in any future court cases.
Norway steps in?
Perhaps there is a solution instead outside the 27 EU countries.
In Norway, at least the opposition is pushing for Norway to step in and use its gigantic oil fund as collateral.
"Does the Prime Minister want to take the initiative for Norway to stand as a guarantor for the EU's planned loans?" asks Guri Melby, party leader of the liberal Venstre, in a formal question to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, reports the NTB news agency.
A response is expected in the Storting no later than Tuesday.
According to NTB, the conservative Høyre, the green party MDG and the left-wing parties SV and Rødt also say yes to a Norwegian guarantee. This means there is a clear majority among the members – if the governing party AP also says yes.
Stoltenberg on the way
Prime Minister Støre has so far responded evasively.
The discussions in the EU are not finished yet, so I will not draw any more conclusions than that we have close contact with them, he told NTB after the Nordic Council's prime minister's meeting in Stockholm at the end of October.
Fittingly, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg will be in Brussels on Wednesday to meet with key EU commissioners and then attend a meeting of EU and EFTA finance ministers on Thursday.
“Can't hide”
The idea of a Norwegian guarantee was actually raised in Denmark, where the newspaper Politiken harshly criticized the Norwegian government for not helping Ukraine enough, considering the billions that Norway has earned from increased gas and oil sales due to the war.
The Danish former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen is one of those pushing.
Norway has the means and a duty to do much more. It is not possible to hide behind a sagging oil fund, Fogh recently told Politiken.
Since the renewed outbreak of war in 2022, the EU and its member states have assisted Ukraine with the equivalent of 1,900 billion Swedish kronor.
Over the next two years, the country is estimated to need at least an additional 550 billion kronor to survive.
At the EU summit in Brussels on October 23, all member states except Hungary pledged to “address Ukraine’s economic needs” and therefore urged the European Commission to develop options for financial support “as soon as possible.”
Formal proposals on how are now expected from the Commission ahead of the next EU summit, on December 18-19.
Source: European Council, European Commission
