Merz to advocate use of frozen Russian assets at EU summit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a government declaration on the upcoming European Council meeting with focus on EU's support for Ukraine, developments in Middle East, European defense and security, EU competitiveness, and migration during a plenum session of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany October 16, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he would call for the European Union to use Russian assets frozen in the West to provide a 140 billion euro ($163 billion) loan to Ukraine to finance its war effort at the upcoming EU summit.

Merz first advocated for an interest-free EU loan backed by the frozen assets in late September.