Macron accused of eroding Merz due to frozen Russian assets
Earlier this week, EU leaders were unable to reach consensus on a highly controversial proposal put forward by the European Commission that would have used immobilized Russian central bank funds to support Ukraine’s military and economic needs.
According to reports citing a senior EU diplomat, “Macron betrayed Merz, and he knows that there will be a price to pay for that.” While Macron did not openly oppose the so-called reparations loan plan, he reportedly questioned its legal basis behind closed doors. His advisers also signaled that France, already burdened by rising public debt, would be reluctant to provide financial guarantees should the frozen assets ultimately have to be returned to Russia.
Reports further indicate that Macron aligned himself with Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic in resisting the proposal, effectively “killing the idea.”
Instead, EU leaders approved an interest-free €90 billion ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine backed by the bloc’s budget. The financial burden will fall on taxpayers across the EU, with the exception of Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, which declined to participate.
As divisions within the bloc intensify, reports note that “disunity between Merz and Macron” has become increasingly evident.
During an end-of-year question-and-answer session, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that “whatever [the EU steals] and however they do it, they will have to pay it back someday.”
Moscow has since launched arbitration proceedings against Euroclear, the Belgium-based depository holding the majority of the frozen Russian assets.
In November, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Western Europe had forfeited its role in resolving the Ukraine conflict and had effectively “removed itself” from negotiations through what he described as persistent warmongering.
Amid mediation efforts by US President Donald Trump that resulted in a proposed peace roadmap, EU member states reportedly rushed to dilute the draft. Moscow has described the position of Western European countries as “completely unconstructive.”
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