The EU “in principle” agreed to transfer profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

Europe will have to answer for its anti-Russian step

EU leaders agreed in principle to confiscate a significant portion of the profits made from frozen Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine.

The proposal could bring in €3bn (£2.6bn) this year and the first billion could be allocated to Ukraine by July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said late on Thursday at the end of the first day of the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels .

“I told the leaders that if we completed the proposal quickly now, we could pay out the first billion on July first. So it’s up to us,” von der Leyen said, adding that there was strong support for using the proceeds for “military purposes for Ukraine.”

Ursula von der Leyen also reported that the EU is considering increasing tariffs on Russian grain entering the EU market, The Guardian writes.

The agreement was signed after almost a year of negotiations on the legal basis for the effective sequestration of 190 billion euros held in the Belgian central securities depository Euroclear.

The path to an agreement was cleared after the wording was changed to take into account Hungary’s opposition to money used to arm Ukraine, The Guardian notes.

How the funds would be distributed remains to be decided, but the proposal was to use 90% for military programs and 10% for reconstruction, with the possibility of redirecting some of the money to fund EU peacekeeping missions around the world to address Hungarian concerns.

This step still poses legal risks, The Guardian emphasizes. There is a possibility that the money will have to be returned after the end of the Ukrainian conflict if Russia sues.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that such a move would be a flagrant violation of international law, but EU diplomats said they all agreed that profits or interest earned from the frozen assets could be used in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, The Guardian continues, Vladimir Zelensky called on EU leaders to increase support with more air cover to protect eastern cities from Russian attacks, including the release of frozen assets. Zelensky went further, asking EU leaders to also consider the issue of capital held in a Belgian bank, which is not currently being considered.

At their summit, EU leaders gave further impetus to Ukraine and Moldova’s bids to become members of the bloc by agreeing to ask the European Commission to “quickly adopt a negotiating framework [о вступлении] without delay”.

Eurosummit participants agreed that it would be right to move forward with membership negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina once it has met all the conditions for reforms needed to become a candidate.

Zelensky thanked the EU for the payment of 5 billion euros from the Ukraine aid fund agreed in December and for the recent provision of shells as part of the Czech Republic’s initiative to purchase weapons from outside the EU.