The European Council convenes on Thursday, and at stake is a contentious deal to back Ukraine and its war effort in 2026 and 2027.
European Union leaders are convening on Thursday for a meeting that will show whether they can face head-on many of the largest challenges confronting them: an aggressive Russia, an increasingly unfriendly United States, and a costly land war in Ukraine.
Officials hope that by the end of the European Council meeting that kicks off Thursday morning in Brussels, the 27 nations of the European Union will agree to use Russian government assets frozen in Europe to make a huge loan to finance Ukraine and its war effort in 2026 and 2027.
But the deal is expected to be contentious, and it could still fail.
Belgium, where most of the 210 billion euros (about $247 billion) worth of assets in Europe are frozen, has voiced stark opposition to the plan for months, laying out a series of demands. The nation wants other European countries to share in the possible legal risk if Russia retaliates.
It also wants other nations that hold smaller sums of frozen assets to use those pots of money to make loans. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Russian state savings were also frozen in Britain and France, among other places.
European Union officials, ambassadors, and leaders from across the bloc have met frantically over recent days to try to reach workable compromises. It was not clear, headed into the gathering, that it would be enough. And while many analysts speculated that Belgium would eventually come around at the 11th hour — dragging out the drama in part because it is playing well in domestic politics — leaders had no obvious game plan if not.
Officials have said the meeting of the European Council, which brings together heads of state and government from across Europe, will last until a decision on funding Ukraine is reached. There is already speculation that it could stretch on for days; some officials have even suggested it could last until Christmas.
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