POLITICO: Bulgaria to Provide €1.2 Billion Guarantee for Ukraine Loan

EU countries will need to individually commit billions of euros to guarantee as much as €210 billion in urgently needed loans to Ukraine, POLITICO reports.

The sums states must commit are calculated on the basis of their GDP — using the same ratio that determines their contributions to the EU’s common budget. For Bulgaria, the guarantee would total around €1.2 billion.

Germany would carry the heaviest burden, providing about €52 billion, followed by France with around €34 billion.

Last week, the European Commission put forward a legislative proposal to provide Ukraine with a loan of up to €210 billion over five years. The loan would be secured using frozen Russian assets, the majority of which are under the stewardship of the Brussels-based financial depository, Euroclear.

Belgium has opposed the use of Russian assets and is demanding financial guarantees from other EU member states in case Ukraine is unable to repay the loan.

According to the European Commission’s document, the total amounts each country must commit could increase if Kremlin-friendly states, such as Hungary, refuse to join the initiative. Conversely, the guarantees could be reduced if non-EU countries, such as Norway, also agree to participate.

The proposed reparations-based loan for Ukraine allocates €115 billion to fund the country’s defence industry over a five-year period.

A further €50 billion is earmarked to cover Kyiv’s budgetary needs, while the remaining €45 billion from the total package would be used to repay a G7 loan extended to Ukraine last year.

A final decision on the loan is expected to be taken at the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels next week.