00:00On one hand, we proposed EU borrowing on the market, and on the other hand, we had developed
00:06the reparations loan. Very important was in our discussion that last week, already on Friday,
00:15we had sent a very clear and strong political message by immobilizing the Russian assets in
00:23the European Union over the long term. So that message was very clear. And building on that,
00:30we today had then agreed to find a solution for the financing of Ukraine in the next two years.
00:37The member states have agreed to finance Ukraine through EU borrowing on the capital markets
00:43for an amount of 90 billion euros for the next two years. We will do this by way of enhanced
00:51cooperation that is backed by the EU budget headroom and based on a unanimous agreement
01:00to amend the MFF. Similarly to the reparations loan, very important here, Ukraine would only
01:08need to pay back the loan once it receives reparations. Until then, the immobilized Russian
01:17assets will remain immobilized, and the Union reserves its right to make use of the cash
01:24balances to finance the loan. This is the solution we found together, and as discussed in the last
01:31weeks, financing Ukraine beyond 2027 will then be part of the next MFF discussion.
01:39In this European Council, we reach unanimity to ensure immediately this loan that
01:47clarifies that we have a clear solution to support Ukraine, and at the same time, we can continue
01:55to work on to address all the legal, technical issues that we need to address to implement the reparation.
02:05So we had a very clear goal that was securing the financing for Ukraine. That is the utmost
02:15important, of utmost importance. 90 billion for two years. If we would not have had this tasking
02:22to put on the table two options or options for the financing for Ukraine, my guess is we would not have had
02:32the courage or the political momentum to permanently immobilize the Russian assets. That's the big
02:41win. Because, as you know, before that, every six months there was a threat that just one member state
02:49not agreeing to the sanctions anymore, the rollover to the sanctions, the immobilized Russian assets would
02:55have been gone. Now they are secured for good and can only be mobilized again with a qualified majority.
03:04So that was, I think, the most important part in it.
03:07So you can have a look at the
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