2024-02-29 17:11:11
2024-03-01 01:11 Compiled by Mao Yi of United Daily News/Comprehensive Report European Commission President Van der Leyen (right) proposed using the profits generated from Russia’s frozen assets to purchase weapons for Kiev. Pictured…
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the Group of Seven Major Industrial Countries (G7) and the European Union froze Russian sovereign assets of approximately 300 billion euros (approximately NT$10 trillion). European Commission President Van der Leyen told the European Parliament President on February 28 Degrees indicate that the huge profits generated from these frozen assets are used to purchase weapons for Ukraine. The Financial Times, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that the European Commission will submit a formal plan within two weeks.
Although Ukraine’s European allies are actively discussing how to continue supporting Ukraine, there is a lack of consensus on the legality of using the asset. Van der Leyen said it was time to start discussing how to use the profits from the asset, and that purchasing arms for Kiev and making Ukraine and Europe as a whole safer was the best use of that money.
Van der Leyen’s remarks were the first time the EU linked the use of the asset to the possibility of purchasing anti-Russian weapons for Ukraine. Van der Leyen’s proposal needs to be approved by the 27 EU countries without objection. French Finance Minister Le Maire said that the best use of those profits has yet to be discussed by the 27 EU countries, but Van der Leyen’s proposal is interesting. Le Maire also did not forget to emphasize that “we have no legal basis to confiscate Russian sovereign assets, and we should never do it (confiscation)” and must abide by international law and the rule of law.
German Finance Minister Lindner said that van der Leyen’s proposal was a pragmatic step. Previous discussions have focused on making the money part of the EU budget as part of a pipeline to invest in Ukraine’s reconstruction. An EU diplomat pointed out that using the money to buy weapons for Kyiv may include different channels, such as the European Peace Facility (EPF) or other EU mechanisms for purchasing ammunition directly from arms dealers. This process is likely to take some time. .
The United States continues to urge its G7 allies to confiscate frozen Russian sovereign assets, most of which are in Belgium, but EU countries are still worried that Moscow may take retaliatory measures.
The EU has focused on the profits of 191 billion euros (approximately NT$6.6 trillion) of Russian state assets held by financial institutions such as the European Bank for Settlements in Belgium, which will be reinvested by the bank. EU countries agreed in January to store the profits in a separate escrow account as a first step in distributing the money to Ukraine. The European Commission estimates that it may bring in 300 million euros (approximately NT$104.2 billion) a year, depending on interest rates. But countries including France, Germany and Italy are still calling for caution and have not yet given up doubts about confiscating the profits.
The Economist believes that confiscating all Russian sovereign assets would be a mistake and would feed into the common belief among countries in the “Global South” that the United States and its allies are selectively complying with international law and are somewhat hypocritical.
Ukraine Russia Russia-Ukraine War
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