EU Council greenlights transfer of frozen Russian asset profits to Ukraine
Illustrative photo: AP/ Jean-Francois Badias
On May 21, the Council of the European Union approved the transfer of revenues from taxable excess profits of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
The permanent representation of the Czech Republic in the EU reported that on X.
"The Council of the EU confirmed its consent to the use of proceeds from immobilized assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for the benefit of Ukraine.
Annual revenues are expected to be approximately 2.5-3 billion euros. 90% of the anticipated revenues will be used for military purposes to support the defense of Ukraine," the message emphasized.
In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, also announced that on the social network X.
"We approved in the EU the use of revenues from the frozen assets of the Russian central bank to help Ukraine. Up to 3 billion euros this year alone, 90% will go to the Ukrainian army. Russia must pay for the damage caused by the war," he wrote.
V rámci EU jsme dnes rozhodli o převedení výnosů ze zmražených aktiv ruské centrální banky ve prospěch Ukrajiny. Jen za tento rok může jít až o 74 miliard korun.
90 % z výnosů půjde na vojenskou podporu. Rusko musí zaplatit za škody napáchané svojí agresivní válkou.
— Jan Lipavský (@JanLipavsky) May 21, 2024
A smaller share, which is 10%, will go to the restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine.
For reference:
On February 24, the Group of Seven (G7) countries released a statement confirming that they would keep Russian assets frozen in their jurisdictions until the end of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
It is worth adding that the European Union has prepared a legislative proposal, according to which Ukraine will start receiving profits from the blocked assets of the Russian Central Bank already in July: the funds will be directed to the supply of weapons and the development of the defense industry.
On March 19, the Head of Diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, proposed to use 90% of the revenues from the Russian Federation's assets frozen in Europe to purchase weapons for Ukraine through the European Peace Fund.
According to open information, Euroclear currently has 192 billion euros of Russian Central Bank assets on its balance sheet. The EU is looking for legal mechanisms to deal further with these frozen resources and the interest accrued on them, which has reached €5 billion over the past two years.
