Norway Backs EU Plan to Use Frozen Russian Assets for Ukraine Aid

Norway’s Minister of Finance Jens Stoltenberg said that the country could support the EU’s plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit, but does not think it’s necessary to draw on funds from its sovereign wealth fund.

In an NRK interview, the head of finance stressed that he does not rule out any options until the proposal is officially submitted, but one of the ideas was rejected.

“There were proposals for Norway to guarantee the entire amount. This is not relevant. But whether we can help, we will see depending on what the EU proposes”

According to Stoltenberg, Norway is already providing substantial support to Ukraine, but direct grants or financial aid through the EU’s loan program currently depend on a detailed review of the proposal by the EU.

According to media reports, on November 13 the European Union’s finance ministers are to discuss the possibility of providing Ukraine 130–140 billion euros financed through the use of Russian assets in European countries.

What is known about the possible EU reparations loan

On September 10, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the idea of a reparations loan for Ukraine. The idea is to form a loan based on the remaining Russian assets held abroad.

Despite an approximate estimate of about 210 billion euros of Russian assets located in Europe and stored in the Belgian depository Euroclear, about 175 billion has already been converted into cash, which could underlie a new lending mechanism. At the same time the EU must first repay 45 billion euros of a loan agreed last year with the G7, leaving roughly 130 billion euros for the new instrument.

These steps show the EU’s intention to use part of Russia’s assets to support Ukraine, while aiming to preserve transparency of financial decisions and global economic stability.