Could Frozen Russian Assets Be Europe's Ticket To US Peace Talks For Ukraine?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

68% : A European Commission official told RFE/RL that the original idea was to first secure political backing for the reparations loan when EU leaders gather at an EU summit in Brussels on December 18.
62% : While the EU would wants the reparation loan to be a European project, most diplomats concede it is essential to keep Washington onboard -- and happy.
56% : Last month, the EU saw itself largely bypassed when the United States presented a peace plan that was "refined" once US and Ukrainian diplomats met in Geneva a few days later.
56% : And Brussels hopes other non-EU G7 countries could chip in, as well.
52% : But it's the third option -- a reparations loan leveraging frozen Russian sovereign wealth assets in the EU -- that is the most popular, as it wouldn't directly hit the pockets of EU taxpayers.
52% : This means smaller -- and more skeptical -- countries such as Hungary and Slovakia can opt out as their total share of EU GNI is miniscule.
51% : With the United States reluctant to commit any new money for Ukraine, the EU's willingness to step up has become crucial for Kyiv as Russia's full-scale invasion nears its four-year anniversary.
49% : The US peace plan and its focus on frozen Russian assets have caused tensions with EU officials.
47% : If there's one way European Union officials feel they can get a seat at the table when it comes the settlement of the war in Ukraine, it is via the 176 billion euros ($204 billion) of Russian frozen assets currently held inside the bloc and how they can be leveraged both politically and economically.
46% : " The European Commission, however, still believes an agreement can be made in December if enough EU member states make legally binding guarantees to back the reparations loan based on their gross national income (GNI).
46% : There's also the "American angle," as some EU officials put it.
45% : There's also a fear that national diplomats and lawyers would get bogged down in details and derail any chances of a deal if the legal acts are presented too soon. Belgium, which hosts the financial markets company Euroclear where most Russian bonds are frozen, wants to see proper guarantees from other EU member states as it expects a legal retaliation from Moscow.
44% : EU officials say most parts of the original US proposal have been watered down or taken out completely, but they admit that any final document could change considerably and they aren't privy to the latest discussions on the wording.
43% : According to RFE/RL sources, the European Commission is currently working on as many as 11 legal acts when it comes to the loan, and there is plenty of frustration in EU capitals that have yet to see concrete details of how the plan would work.
41% : Crucially, though, Brussels also has to ensure that the United States continues to pressure Hungary into agreeing to the rollover of EU sanctions, which include the frozen Russian assets, every six months.
40% : European officials, speaking to RFE/RL under condition of anonymity, say they have succeeded in removing some of the original text's ideas related directly to Ukrainian membership in the EU and NATO.

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