MEPs approve €35 billion loan for Ukraine, financed using frozen Russian assets

A €35 BILLION loan for Ukraine was today approved by MEPs in Strasbourg, France which will be repaid using the revenue collected from frozen Russian assets.

A total of 518 MEPs voted to approve the funding which makes up the majority of a €45 billion financial aid package that was approved by countries in the G7 last June. 56 MEPs voted against the funding and there were 61 abstentions.

The funding, financed using a tranche of Russian-owned assets that have been frozen inside of the EU since sanctions were first placed on the Federation following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, was also approved by EU leaders last week.

The EU this year decided that it would use the windfall revenue to support Ukraine in the war against Russian aggression and with rebuilding efforts in the future.

Today’s sum was previously announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last month.

It is the second time that the EU has moved to use the frozen assets fund as a method of assist with Ukraine’s defence against a Russian invasion. In May, EU leaders agreed to use the receipts to fund arms for the war-torn country.

Ireland previously supported plans for the money to be put towards the reconstruction of Ukraine following the end of the war. Taoiseach Simon Harris was quick to voice his support for the use of the fund with EU leaders during his first council summit this year.

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Today’s funding approval indicates that the EU intends to keep the assets frozen until well after any peace agreement is reached.

Among the other topics discussed during this month’s plenary session of the European Parliament was the freedom of media and protection of journalists following the death of Ukrainian reporter Viktoria Roshchyna in Russia this month.

The EU’s foreign affairs commissioner Josep Borrell renewed the EU’s commitment to a free press and the protection of members of the media, particular in regions of the world where conflicts are taking place.

Calls for ceasefire in the Middle East

MEPs also took part in a long debate and discussion following the Israeli attacks on UN peacekeeping soldiers in Lebanon earlier this month. The Parliament voted to condemn the attacks on UNIFIL positions.

Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews rejected claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hezbollah in southern Lebanon were using UNIFIL soldiers as human shields.

“This is blatantly false,” Andrews said. “The truth is that the IDF is continuously and flagrantly violated international law, drawing condemnation from the US, the UK, France, Germany & Italy in a rare show of moral enlightenment.”

The European Parliament also voted to support renewed calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

Speaking on the attack of a hospital in Gaza by Israel last week, Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan asked her colleagues: “How have we reached a point where burning patients in their hospital beds is not a red line for the EU?”

She put forward calls, which has received cross-party support by fellow Irish MEPs, for Israel to be sanctioned by the EU.

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