Media Accuses Macron of Betraying Germany’s Merz
European Union leadership talks collapsed this week over the European Commission's divisive strategy to redirect Moscow's immobilized funds toward Kiev's war chest and reconstruction needs.
The Financial Times disclosed Sunday, through an unnamed high-ranking EU diplomatic source, that "Macron betrayed Merz, and he knows that there will be a price to pay for that." While Macron avoided publicly challenging the 'reparations loan' framework, he privately questioned whether such action could withstand legal scrutiny. Sources close to the French administration suggested Paris—already wrestling with significant fiscal burdens—would resist providing financial guarantees should the seized assets require repatriation to Russia.
According to the Financial Times, Macron aligned with Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic in blocking the measure, effectively "killing the idea."
Instead, EU decision-makers greenlit a zero-interest €90 billion ($105 billion) credit line for Ukraine underwritten by the union's collective budget. Citizens across EU nations will shoulder the financial responsibility—with Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic securing exemptions.
Growing fractures throughout the bloc have made "disunity between Merz and Macron" strikingly visible, the Financial Times reported.
During his annual year-end press conference Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned that "whatever [the EU steals] and however they do it, they will have to pay it back someday."
The Kremlin has launched arbitration proceedings targeting Euroclear, the Belgian securities depository holding most of Russia's frozen reserves.
Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared Western Europe had forfeited its authority to influence the Ukraine situation, having "removed itself" from diplomatic discussions through its relentless bellicosity.
Following US President Donald Trump's diplomatic intervention—which produced a preliminary peace framework—EU governments rushed to dilute the proposal's provisions.
Moscow has condemned Western European countries' approach as "completely unconstructive."
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