Dear President of the European Commission,
Dear Members of the European Council,
Dear EU Leaders,
Since the important approval of the substantial €90 billion loan for Ukraine in December 2025, circumstances have shifted dramatically. Russia is targeting the entire Ukrainian population with mass attacks during the harsh winter, while European security is under growing strain. Relations with our main ally are increasingly unpredictable, showing that Europe can no longer rely on external support.
While we welcome the discussions regarding the €100 billion Ukraine Reserve within the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, these long-term plans must be accelerated and expanded. A reserve that begins in 2028 does not address the immediate, existential threat of 2026.
We must bridge this gap now by accelerating innovative next steps regarding immobilised Russian assets and by fully leveraging the immense economic power of the EU.
- While the further leveraging of immobilised Russian assets was not approved in December 2025, the Council requested that the Commission explore additional options. We urge EU leaders to act decisively to overcome the current stalemate, building on the latest innovative proposals put forward by experts in this field.
- Joint borrowing expansion should be explored in parallel to prevent any delays. The €800 billion NextGenerationEU programme has already demonstrated that common borrowing is feasible when facing systemic threats. The scale of support for Ukrainian defence must match Russian real war budget and be aligned with the Estonian plan for Ukrainian victory (outlined in the Annex below).
We are aware that the EU remains divided between those advocating for expanded joint borrowing and those rightly emphasizing the “aggressor pays” principle. Our letter calls for building on both approaches. We shall combine them creatively and build on the December 2025 breakthroughs that demonstrated the ability to act decisively. Providing sufficient funding for Ukraine will be one of the most important strategic investments Europe can make in decades.
Signed,
Michal Majzner, Civic signpost initiative, Czech republic
Pavel Havlíček, AMO Research Fellow, Czech republic
Ivan U. Kłyszcz, geopolitical consultant, researcher, Estonia
Aaron Gasch Burnett, Senior Security Policy Fellow, European Resilience Initiative Center, Berlin
Gustav Gressel, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, ECFR, Austria
Lenka Víchová, specialist in Ukrainian studies, Czech republic
Edward Lucas, author, speaker, writer, consultant, UK
Yuliya Ziskina, Senior Legal Fellow, Razom for Ukraine
Adam Hanka, Co-Chair, Volt Czechia
Mikuláš Peksa, former Member of the European Parliament, Volt, Czech republic
Reinier van Lanschot, Member of the European Parliament, Co-President of Volt Europa (Netherlands)
Alexandra Alvarová, author and information warfare specialist (CZ/Canada)
Václav Němec, philosopher, writer, Czech republic
Andrej Ferdinand Novak, Chairman, Allianz für Europäische Sicherheit e.V., Germany
.Authors:
Michal Majzner, Civic signpost initiative, Czech republic
Second revision consulted with:
Aaron Gasch Burnett, Senior Security Policy Fellow, European Resilience Initiative Center, Berlin
Annex – Analytical background:
Report describing the December 2025 outcomes, related proposals, and the Estonian plan with a 0.25% GDP commitment, including the latest innovative proposals regarding the use of immobilised Russian assets:
https://obcanskyrozcestnik.cz/eu-borrowing-ukrainian-90-billion/
