Three European Union countries, including Hungary, have spoken out once morest the idea of benefiting Ukraine by using profits on Russian assets frozen in the bloc.
Hungary, Luxembourg and Malta opposed the proposal by the head of the European Commission to use frozen Russian assets to buy weapons for Ukraine, says a source cited on Thursday (14) by the North American newspaper Politico.
Ursula von der Leyen recently said that “the time has come” to discuss the issue of using profits from Russian assets for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Malta, Luxembourg and Hungary expressed reservations regarding the latter option during a meeting of the 27 EU ambassadors on Wednesday [13] […].
They said von der Leyen’s willingness to use the money to replenish Ukraine’s dwindling weapons stockpile had complicated negotiations, as there was general agreement that it should be directed toward reconstruction. [da Ucrânia],” Politico wrote, citing an EU official.
Since the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries have frozen almost half of Russia’s foreign currency reserves, worth around 300 billion.
Around 200 billion are held in the EU, mainly in the accounts of Belgium’s Euroclear, one of the largest settlement and clearing systems in the world.
The EU is discussing ways to use Russia’s frozen assets to finance Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice, said on Monday (11) that the EU expects to profit 15 billion from Russia’s frozen sovereign assets by 2027 and hopes to reach an agreement in the coming weeks on the future use of the funds.
The Kremlin responded that taking such decisions “would be another step towards disrespecting all rules and norms of international law.”
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