EU states have agreed that the proceeds from frozen Russian assets will be used to help Ukraine militarily

The ambassadors of the EU states reached an agreement in principle on Wednesday so that the revenues resulting from the Russian assets frozen following the sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine be used to finance the military aid offered to the Ukrainian army, the Belgian presidency of the EU Council announced.

“The EU ambassadors have agreed in principle measures on the extraordinary benefits resulting from Russia’s fixed assets,” the Belgian presidency said in a message on the X platform.

“The money will be used to support the recovery and military defense of Ukraine in the context of Russian aggression.”

The proposal in this sense came in March from the European Commission, according to AFP and EFE, taken over by Agerpres. The EU executive requested that the income from frozen Russian assets, such as interest, be used for the purchase of arms and ammunition destined for Ukraine.

The amounts obtained from those revenues are estimated between 2.5 and 3 billion euros annually.

300 billion euros, Russian assets blocked

Following the sanctions imposed after the launch of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the states of the EU bloc together with those of the G7 blocked Russia’s access to around 300 billion euros of its foreign exchange or gold reserves. Of this amount, the EU has frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank worth about 200 billion euros, the largest part of this amount, about 192 billion euros, being deposited in Belgium in the form of securities and cash amounts , and the Euroclear clearinghouse handles the management of these assets.

According to some community sources, according to the agreement in principle agreed on Wednesday, which still needs to be approved in the EU Council by the ministers of the member states, 90% of the revenues produced by these frozen Russian assets will be transferred to the European Peace Facility (EPF), an extrabudgetary fund made up of contributions of EU states and through which military assistance is provided to third states, but which was mainly used to arm Ukraine. The 10% difference will be directed to the EU budget for strengthening the capacities of the Ukrainian defense industry.

Russia last month described the proposal put forward by the European Commission as “theft and banditry”, saying it would lead to decades of lawsuits and undermine the EU’s reputation as a reliable defender of property and a safe place for investment.

European politicians also demand the direct confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the West and their use both for the reconstruction of Ukraine and for the purchase of weapons and ammunition intended for it. But such a measure, also requested by Kiev, seems difficult, at least for now, as there are numerous obstacles of a legal, geopolitical and financial nature, such as the risk of disturbing the international financial markets and weakening the euro, plus Moscow has threatened with reprisals if it will be put into practice.

Publisher: BP

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