The EU states have agreed that the revenues from the frozen Russian assets will be used for the military support of Ukraine / It is estimated between 2.5 and 3 billion euros annually

Brussels, May 8 /Agerpres/ – The ambassadors of the EU states reached an agreement in principle on Wednesday so that the revenues resulting from the Russian assets frozen as a result of the sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine should be used to finance the military aid offered to the Ukrainian army, the presidency announced Belgian delegation of the EU Council, AFP and EFE agencies report, Agerpres transmits.

“The EU ambassadors agreed in principle on measures on the extraordinary benefits resulting from Russia’s immobilized assets,” the Belgian presidency said in a message on the X platform, adding that this money will “serve to support Ukraine’s recovery and military defense.”

The proposal in this sense came in March from the European Commission. 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.

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.