EU plan
For weapons and reconstruction: Ukraine should collect interest from Russian assets
EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell is further turning Russia against the EU with his proposal
© Jean-Francois Badias/AP/DPA
Russian assets frozen in the EU generated 4.4 billion euros in interest in 2023. According to some EU politicians, these interest profits will soon flow to Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against the In Ukraine, the EU has frozen around 200 billion euros in Russian assets as part of sanctions, mostly from reserves of the Russian Central Bank. Now the money could at least partially benefit Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell suggests using Russian assets frozen in Europe to benefit Ukraine. He wants to skim off the interest profits from the assets – at least three billion euros per year. 90 percent of the funds will go to weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, with the remaining ten percent going to the country’s defense industry. An initial test of sentiment is expected at the summit, but not yet the necessary unanimous decision.
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reports also from the draft law, but with a slightly different distribution of interest profits: According to this, 90 percent of the income should flow into a special fund that supports the member states in procuring military equipment for Ukraine. According to the plans, the remaining ten percent would go to the regular EU budget and would be reserved there for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Interest gains from Russia for Ukraine
According to the newspaper, the frozen Russian assets total 260 billion euros, of which more than two thirds are in the EU lay. Most of this money is in accounts of the Belgian financial group Euroclear. It’s 2023 according to his own statements He made a profit of 4.4 billion euros on his assets because he reinvested them on the capital market in accordance with legal requirements.
Two years of war in Ukraine
Massacre in Butscha, the Battle of Bakhmut, the Wagner Uprising: A chronicle in pictures
Borrell called on EU heads of state and government to clear the way for the use of interest profits. The 27 will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, the main topic being support for Ukraine.
Baerbock open to Borrell suggestion
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) spoke out in favor of the project during an initial discussion with Borrell on Monday. The federal government wants to use the interest profits so that “Ukraine can defend itself,” she emphasized.
Last year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) described the Brussels deliberations as “terribly complicated”. The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main also expressed concerns that the approach could deter investors from third countries.
According to diplomats, it is unclear whether Hungary would support the necessary unanimous decision. At the EU summit, only an initial signal from the heads of state and government is expected.
Russia threatens prosecution
Russia has strongly warned the EU against using frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov threatened EU countries with decades of criminal prosecution on Wednesday. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke of “banditry and theft” and an “unprecedented violation” of international law.
“Europeans should be aware of the damage that such decisions could cause to their economy, their image and their reputation as reliable guarantors of the inviolability of property,” Peskov said. Individuals and states involved would face criminal prosecution for “many decades.”
Source: DPA, “Sueddeutsche.de”, Euroclear balance sheet for 2023AFP.