LONDON

Italy has urged its EU partners to proceed cautiously over plans to use frozen Russian assets to finance support for Ukraine, with a final decision expected at this week’s European Council in Brussels, state news agency ANSA reported.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to outline Italy’s reservations in a speech to parliament, before deferring position to discussions at the EU summit on Thursday and possibly Friday.

While reaffirming Italy’s firm backing for Ukraine, Meloni is also expected to stress the need to support US-led peace efforts and to avoid divisions within the Western alliance.

At the heart of Italy’s concerns are the legal, financial and institutional implications of using Russian assets that would be frozen indefinitely, rather than renewed month by month, to fund Ukraine in 2026 and 2027.

Italy, together with Belgium, Bulgaria and Malta, has warned against what it has described as “technical leaps forward” without a thorough political assessment.

Italy’s position will be formally reflected in a parliamentary resolution being finalized ahead of a vote, updated following a recent summit in Berlin.

The draft stresses that priority in EU enlargement should be given to the Western Balkans, implicitly cautioning against accelerating Ukraine’s accession. It also sets out strict conditions for the disbursement of funds to Kyiv, including respect for the rule of law and efforts to combat money laundering and corruption.