Von der Leyen wants to use frozen Russian money for weapons

There have long been calls for profits from frozen Russian capital to be transferred to Ukraine. EU Commission President von der Leyen now wants to use the money to buy weapons for the attacked country.

Several hundred billion dollars of Russian assets are frozen in foreign accounts – largely in the European Union. Now EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has advocated using profits from these assets to finance weapons for Ukraine.

“It is time to start a conversation about using the windfalls from frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine,” she told the European Parliament. “There could be no stronger symbol and no better use for this money than making Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live.”

The head of the Commission reiterated her promise to support Ukraine for as long as necessary. “We must not let Russia win,” she emphasized.

Around 200 billion euros frozen in the EU

At the end of January, the EU countries had already agreed to set aside interest profits from the frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression, the European Union has frozen around 200 billion euros in Russian assets. However, due to high legal hurdles in Germany and other countries, they cannot simply be confiscated.

Von der Leyen also called for the expansion of the European arms industry and the strengthening of the armed forces in the EU. The threat of war for the EU “may not be imminent, but it is not impossible,” she said, referring to Russia.

Lindner wants to use the money at least partially

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner wants to give at least some of the frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. This could bring in a single-digit billion sum, he said at the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in São Paulo, Brazil. There he announced that the EU Commission would shortly present a concrete proposal.

USFinance Minister for forwarding to Ukraine

Demands to transfer the frozen assets in Russian foreign accounts to Ukraine have recently become increasingly louder. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said ahead of the G20 finance ministers’ meeting that it was urgent to find a way to unlock the value of these idle assets “to support Ukraine’s continued resistance and long-term reconstruction.”

This would make it clear “that Russia cannot win if it prolongs the war,” emphasized Yellen. In addition, forwarding the funds to Ukraine creates an incentive to “sit down at the negotiating table and negotiate a fair peace with Ukraine,” the US minister emphasized.

Addressing the G7 group, Yellen warned that they should also consider confiscating all frozen assets. “The G7 should work together to explore a range of approaches: seizing the assets themselves or using them as collateral for loans in global markets.”

Also Sunak for Seizure of assets

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also made a similar proposal. In a guest article for the “Sunday Times” a few days ago, he spoke out in favor of a more energetic approach to frozen Russian capital. “It starts with the billions in interest that accrues on these assets being sent to Ukraine,” the conservative politician wrote. In a second step, legal ways would then have to be found within the framework of the leading Western industrial nations G7 to confiscate the assets themselves and pass them on to Ukraine.