EU ambassadors agree to transfer profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine

EU ambassadors have reached a principle agreement on using the profits from frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, as announced by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

"EU ambassadors have just reached a principle agreement on a proposal to use the excess profits linked to frozen assets to support Ukraine's recovery", according to the presidency's statement.

Previously, Reuters identified Belgium, Germany, and France as part of a group of countries slowing down the transfer of funds from Russia's frozen assets to Ukraine.

Ukraine's allies generally agree that Russia should pay for damages caused by the war. This sentiment was echoed by the Belgian Ambassador to the USA, Jean-Arthur Regibeau, in a statement to Bloomberg on January 22. He said that Western countries must make a collective decision on the confiscation of frozen Russian assets, two-thirds of which are held at the Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear.

On January 23, it was revealed that the EU plans to apply a windfall tax on the profits from frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia, without confiscating the funds. A group of countries, including Germany, has clearly stated their opposition to the seizure of Russian assets for legal reasons, as reported by the publication citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

Read also: Netherlands allocates 122 million euros to Ukraine: Over 80 million for ammunition purchases