Navigated Menu Back Financial Times Financial Times Europe 4 Dec 2025 Buttons.Search Options Brussels floats ‘emergency’ powers for loan EU proposes workaround to use Russia assets for Kyiv and quash dissenters PAOLA TAMMA AND LAURA DUBOIS BRUSSELS Settings Print Share Listen Brussels has proposed a legally contentious workaround to raise up to €210bn for Ukraine backed by immobilised Russian state assets, including emergency powers that in effect strip dissenting countries of their veto. The proposal, which would mark a watershed moment for the EU by enabling sanctions to be imposed without unanimity, is a last-ditch attempt to ensure Kyiv’s economic survival by bypassing potential opposition from Russia-friendly countries such as Hungary or Slovakia. The “reparations loan” would leverage up to €210bn of Russian assets immobilised by EU sanctions to fund Kyiv, which would not have to repay the loan until Russia pays reparations. The c...