ECBs Lagarde fully confident EU will agree reparation loan plan for Ukraine

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European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde looks on during an address to the media after the ECBs Governing Council meeting, at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Heiko Becker

LONDON, Dec 18 - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday she was fully confident European Union leaders would agree a way to support Ukraine given ‍the ​vital importance of the issue.

Asked during a news ‍conference whether she thought EU leaders could agree a reparation loan plan for Ukraine, Lagarde ​said: The ​importance of the matter, given what is at stake, I am fully confident that they (EU leaders) will find a solution.

According to a draft document seen ‍by Reuters, which could still change, the EU will ask the blocs institutions ​to urgently adopt instruments to ⁠establish a reparations loan backed by cash balances linked to Russias frozen assets.

Lagarde again stressed that the EUs plan should not breach international legal norms protecting sovereign assets, but said ​she expected a solution to be struck.

It might be in the usual European way, you know, ‌going in circles and being ​time-consuming and giving rise to a lot of speculation as to whether it will work ... But Im confident that we will find a solution, Lagarde said.

Because its too important.

Though Lagarde has often voiced the ECBs views on the issue over the last 18 months, she said the decision on how to proceed was ‍ultimately a political