Brussels to present plans on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine
The European Commission is set to come forward with a proposal to use Russian state assets frozen in the European Union as a reparations loan for Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said."The commission is ready to present a legal text," von der Leyen told lawmakers at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.The commission president, alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is pushing to make up to €140 billion ($162 billion) in Russian central bank assets available to Ukraine to cover the country's financial needs in the coming years.Belgium, where most of the assets are held, has blocked the initiative so far, urging the commission to come up with alternative funding proposals including taking on new debt."To be very clear, I cannot see any scenario in which the European taxpayers alone will pay the bill. This is also not acceptable," von der Leyen stressed in her speech.The Russian assets frozen under EU sanctions were also mentioned in the 28-point peace plan tabled by the US administration last week."Any decision on this needs to be taken in line with the rules of the responsible jurisdiction and will respect European and international law," von der Leyen said.She further reiterated the EU's priorities for a potential deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine.These include security guarantees for Kiev, upholding Ukraine's sovereignty and the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.EU foreign ministers are to discuss recent developments on the US-led peace efforts for Ukraine later on Wednesday.
