European Commission proposes to transfer to Ukraine income from frozen assets of Russian Federation, this is 3 billion euros per year - Financial Times
According to the Financial Times, the European Commission is proposing to allocate €15 billion in proceeds from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine financially. The plan should be supported by all EU member states.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to RBC-Ukraine.
According to the newspaper's sources, on 12 December, Brussels will propose to limit the profits earned from Russia's frozen assets in the EU, aiming to eventually withdraw up to €15 billion in favour of Ukraine.
The European Commission's plan had been postponed since the summer after several EU member states and the European Central Bank raised legal and financial concerns. But the indecisive attempts by the US and EU to agree on additional financial support for Ukraine have given new impetus to proposals to profit from frozen Russian funds.
"It's important to look at how we can use Russia's frozen assets and the proceeds of those assets to support Ukraine," Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission's vice president, told the Financial Times. According to him, the G7 countries agreed to freeze assets until Moscow compensates Ukraine, and it's time to think about how best to use the proceeds of that time.
According to sources briefed on the proposal, to win over sceptics, the EC would first require securities depositories that hold Russian central bank assets to place the profits earned from them in separate accounts. In the second phase of the plan, the profits would be transferred to the EU's general budget to help support Ukraine.
EU member states will need to unanimously endorse the plan, as well as further steps to implement it, before the money can be disbursed to Ukraine.
Only income from the assets of Russia's central bank would be allocated under this proposal. The Commission estimates that this would generate up to €3 billion a year, or €15 billion between 2023 and 2027, although officials have warned that this amount will depend on interest rates over this period.
