EU leaders in Brussels are locked in discussions over whether to use frozen Russian assets to fund a €210 billion loan to Ukraine — and if not, what to do instead.
The pessimism that blighted the past few weeks has started to lift a little, with several senior diplomats who have knowledge of the deliberations now predicting an agreement on Thursday night or Friday.
Belgium, where most of those assets are held, have been the most vocal holdout since the last EU summit in October, but officials say the country has engaged constructively in Thursday’s negotiations.
Leaders’ advisers have been meeting throughout the day in small groups to try to broker an agreement that assuages Belgium’s concerns. Now, with dinner served and a new day looming, it’s back to the leaders to try to seal the deal.
Separately, von der Leyen told EU leaders that the Mercosur trade deal won’t be signed as scheduled on Saturday and instead would wait until next month.