Von der Leyen, 4 EU countries oppose transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine - Politico
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are against the transfer of Russian frozen assets to Ukraine.
This is reported by Politico, Censor.NET reports.
As noted, Europe has 200 billion euros of frozen Russian assets.
The Baltic and Northern European countries neighboring Russia believe that the money should be transferred to Ukraine immediately. This position is supported by Poland, the Czech Republic, and the head of EU diplomacy, former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
"I do not accept the argument that this is legally problematic... we need the political will to do it," said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, adding that skeptical capitals "should provide stronger arguments why we are not doing it."
"But in the opposite camp in Europe, there are major players - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - who fear that by confiscating the funds, the EU will scare away international investors and lose its biggest advantage in peace talks," Politico writes.
"If we unfreeze [the assets] and give [them] to Ukraine, we will no longer have them and we will not be able to use them as a bargaining chip," explained one EU diplomat who opposed the transfer of Russian assets to Ukraine, speaking on condition of anonymity.
French President Emmanuel Macron, during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, insisted that Western allies can legally use the proceeds of assets in time of war, but insisted that confiscating the reserves themselves would be illegal. However, he noted that freezing them provides an important lever of influence.
Kallas herself admitted that the chances of confiscating Russian funds in the near future are slim.
"To do this, we need everyone's support. We don't have it yet," she said during a press conference on Monday.
