"Italian PM Giorgia Meloni walked past reporters, dodging the media scrum ahead of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday. European leaders are set to debate the European Commission's plan to use frozen Russian assets for a $140bn 'reparations loan' for Ukraine, amid huge divisions within the bloc. Belgium - where the assets are held - and others have warned of the impact on investor confidence, the need for 'risk-sharing' and questioned the legality. Italy, Belgium, Malta and Bulgaria called for alternatives to be explored, with Meloni herself saying the original plan was 'far from easy'. Others like Hungary and Slovakia have highlighted the need to end the Ukraine conflict - rather than fund more weapons- as well as ongoing corruption scandals in Ukraine. On Wednesday, Hungary's Viktor Orban claimed 'victory', saying the loan plan was 'off the table'. Russia has called the move 'illegal' and 'theft'."