According to the Financial Times, which cites several officials, the European Central Bank has concluded that the proposed guarantee scheme goes beyond the remit of the European Commission (EC).
Without the ECB's approval, the project for a reparation loan from frozen Russian assets is thus running into serious problems at an early stage.
According to the Commission's proposal, EU Member States were to provide state guarantees in order to share the risk of repaying the loan. However, EC officials have warned that individual governments would not be able to raise the necessary cash quickly in the event of a crisis, which could cause tensions on financial markets. They therefore asked the ECB if it could take on the role of collateral as lender of last resort.
However, the ECB informed the Commission that such a solution was not an option. Its internal assessment showed that it would essentially be providing direct funding to governments as it would be assuming their potential financial liabilities.
