EU to work on using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine after war
By Andrew Gray
[1/5]
COPENHAGEN,
Aug 30 (Reuters) - The European Union will examine how to use frozen
Russian assets to fund Ukraine's defense and reconstruction after the
war but confiscating them now is not politically realistic, EU foreign
policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Saturday.
- Some 210 billion euros ($245.85 billion) of Russian assets are frozen in the bloc under sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, according to the EU.
Ukraine
and some EU countries, including Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, have
said the assets should be seized now and used to support Kyiv.
Those
calls have intensified as Ukraine faces a funding gap of tens of billions of euros for next year alone.
Most
of the assets are held in Euroclear, a securities depository in
Belgium, whose foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, said any seizure was out
of the question for now.
- "Those assets are solidly protected under international law," he told reporters in Copenhagen.
- "Confiscating them would trigger systemic financial instability and also erode trust in the euro."
Prevot
also rejected calls for a change in the investment strategy for the
profits from the assets, with the aim of securing higher yields. He said
that would be too risky, financially and legally.
Last
year, the G7 group of nations - including the EU - agreed to use the
profits generated by the assets to fund a $50 billion loan for Ukraine.
"Belgium
and many other countries are not willing to discuss (taking the assets)
now ... but everybody agrees ... that Russia should pay for the
damages, not our taxpayers,"
--- Kallas said.
EU mulls using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine
Kallas: EU can't give back frozen assets to Russia, unless they pay reparations to Ukraine
The EU's foreign policy chief said the bloc needs to dive deep into the issue of frozen Russian assets, to be prepared in case of an eventual ceasefire or peace deal.
Feature
| Ukraine
Erscheinungsdatum: 29. August 2025
Sanctions package: EU plans to make better use of Russian state bank funds
Kaja Kallas will chair the informal Foreign Affairs
Council in Copenhagen today and tomorrow. (dpa)
In Copenhagen, the defense and foreign ministers are looking
for ways to further tighten the sanctions regime against Russia and
increase support for Ukraine. Calls to make better use of Russian state
bank funds are growing in volume.
Sweden disappointed EU cannot agree on transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine
RELATED
US proposes mechanism to G7 to raise US$50bn for Ukraine from Russian assets
THURSDAY, 21 MARCH 2024, 22:57
The US has proposed its allies in the G7 group to create a special purpose company to
issue at least US$50 billion of bonds from the income of frozen Russian
sovereign assets and use these funds to support Ukraine.Source: Bloomberg with reference to people familiar with the plan, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The
proposal envisages merging US$280 billion of Russian Central Bank
assets that have been frozen by G7 countries and the EU in the special
purpose vehicle, the income of which will be used to provide so-called freedom bonds.
More than two-thirds of frozen Russian assets are blocked in the EU, where they bring about US$3.6 billion in net income annually.
Proceeds from a potential bond offering would almost equal the US$60 billion of American aid stuck in Congress.
The US argument is to come up with a solution that would maximise the income from frozen assets and provide for the value of the windfall profits in order to deliver more support to Ukraine faster.
Proceeds from a potential bond offering would almost equal the US$60 billion of American aid stuck in Congress.
The US argument is to come up with a solution that would maximise the income from frozen assets and provide for the value of the windfall profits in order to deliver more support to Ukraine faster.
Reportedly, some Western banks started lobbying against the EU’s proposal to
redistribute the billions of euros of interest generated from the
frozen Russian assets, fearing it may lead to costly court proceedings.
US proposes $50 billion bond to support Ukraine with frozen Russian assets
With US funding for Ukraine stalled in Congress, the US proposes using profits from frozen Russian assets to issue at least $50 billion in bonds to aid Ukraine.
BY IRYNA VOICHUK
21/03/2024
The
US has suggested to its Group of Seven (G7) allies the creation of a
special purpose vehicle (SPV) to issue at least $50 billion of bonds,
backed by profits from frozen Russian sovereign assets, to support
Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the plan.
The
proposal aims to pool the $280 billion of Russian central bank assets
frozen by G7 countries and the EU, using the profits to back the
so-called freedom bonds.
Some
G7 nations, including Germany and France, have expressed caution over
the new proposal, while others, like Estonia, have advocated for bolder
measures, such as outright seizing the assets. The G7 has previously stated that the assets will remain frozen until Russia agrees to compensate Ukraine for damages.
- EU leaders are discussing using the profits from the frozen assets to support Ukraine’s military needs, with plans to transfer the majority of windfall profits to the European Peace Facility and a smaller portion to the regular EU budget’s Ukraine facility.
- The US is pushing for an option that maximizes revenue from the frozen assets to provide quick support to Ukraine.
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