The European Union can provide Ukraine with the first profit from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation as early as July this year, it is reported Financial Times with reference to European officials.
According to officials, the European Commission is preparing a plan that would involve the seizure of sanctions-related profits, starting in February and beyond, received at the central securities depository Euroclear. After months of wrangling, the first cash tranche could be paid out as early as July if Brussels can get approval from member states." - says the article.
It is noted that the proposal is expected before the summit of EU leaders next week.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Euroclear has immobilized around €190 billion of Russian sovereign assets, generating €3,85 billion in profit.
According to the latest plans, Ukraine will receive between 2 and 3 billion euros this year, depending on interest rates, and the total profit withdrawn from Euroclear could reach 20 billion euros by 2027, according to EU officials.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for the use of this money for military support, and not for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, as originally planned. At the same time, the governments of several countries doubted the correctness of such an approach.
The option of transferring all the blocked money of the Russian Central Bank to Ukraine was considered, but it was not possible to reach a consensus within the European Union. Therefore, the European Commission proposed a compromise option with the transfer of interest only. Initially, part of the money was planned to be used for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, but the emphasis shifted to military support due to the delay in American aid to Kyiv.
"Last month, von der Leyen floated the idea of using the proceeds to buy weapons for Ukrainian forces, but the proposal is likely to be opposed by member states, including Viktor Orbán's Hungary," — writes the publication.
At the same time, more than 100 lawsuits have already been filed against Euroclear due to blocked assets of Russian individual investors. As FT sources explained, Russian courts can seize 33 billion euros worth of Western assets frozen in the Russian National Settlement Depository.
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