European leaders react to the EU's Ukraine loan plan

Dec 19 - The European Union agreed on Friday to lend Ukraine 90 billion euros ($105 billion) but will not, for now, use frozen Russian assets to secure the loan.

Here is what European leaders said about the agreement:

EU PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN

"We all share one clear goal, a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

"We have secured an agreement ‍that we ​can deliver on: the financing needs for Ukraine for the next two years."

UKRAINE PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY

"This is ‍significant support that truly strengthens our resilience. It is important that Russian assets remain immobilized and that Ukraine has received a financial security guarantee for the coming years."

GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ

"I ​wanted to avoid ​either the member states or the European Union going into debt now. We are now making an advance payment, but it is secured by Russian assets, which are immobilised in the long term.

"And they will only be released once this loan has been repaid, either through reparations from Russia or through access to ‍these assets, thereby achieving exactly what I wanted: access to Russian assets to finance the war against Russia and the defence against Russia."

ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIORGIA MELONI

"I'm ​glad that common sense prevailed, that we managed to secure the necessary ⁠resources with a solution that has a solid legal and financial basis.

"The issue of the assets remains in the conclusions; I remind you that the most important decision on this matter was already taken a few days ago when we immobilized them, ensuring they would not be returned."

HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN ON FACEBOOK

"We have passed a very long and difficult night.

"We managed to ​avert the immediate threat of war. We did not let Europe declare war on Russia by using Russian assets.

"This plan would have plunged Europe into war and would have imposed a burden ‌of 1,000 billion forints ($3 billion) on Hungary.

"At the same time, 24 member ​states decided to provide Ukraine with a war loan for the next two years. If the Ukrainians are unable to repay the loan, these European countries will have to repay it."

SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER ROBERT FICO

"Slovakia will not be part of any military loan for Ukraine, and we reject further financing, including from the resources of the Slovak Republic, of military needs, because we do not believe in a military solution to the conflict.

"So I don't believe this decision, which was made yesterday... by 24 member states, would lead to the strengthening of Ukraine. It only leads to further senseless killing."

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

"The absence of a decision would have been a disaster. Happily we took a ‍decision. A clear decision, a clear commitment, with concrete results. This summit is a very good one for Ukraine."

DANISH PRIME MINISTER METTE FREDERIKSEN

"Today is ​good example that when something is necessary, then we are able to deliver.

But at the same time we have to say that many governments and leaders are under a growing pressure in their ​national political discussions, parliaments and so on. It is changing in Europe, unfortunately, and I have to say, ‌this is what Putin is hoping for, the combination of some kind of war fatigue with a hybrid war that brings a lot of uncertainty and insecurity into our societies." REUTERS