Germany is against the transfer of frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia to Ukraine – Kommersant

Germany protested against the desire of the European Commission to use the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia to restore Ukraine, reports Financial Times. Doubt the legitimacy of such a step and other European countries.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated last week that in the coming months it intends to submit a proposal on the use of income received by national financial institutions from the storage of Russia’s frozen assets to finance Ukraine.

One of the representatives of the German government told the FT that the European Commission’s plan is unlikely to be supported, as it carries too high legal risks. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country, in turn, noted that Moscow “has to pay for the damage caused to Ukraine”, but the use of Russian assets for this raises “complicated financial and legal issues.”

Another official said German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann had studied the European Commission’s proposal and concluded it was “legally unenforceable.” Finally, the Bundestag fears that the use of funds from the Central Bank of Russia will become a dangerous precedent and other countries will begin to withdraw foreign assets in their favor. So, for example, Poland could do with German assets, demanding reparations for World War II, a government spokesman told the FT.

Kirill Sarkhanyants