DThe interest income from frozen Russian government assets should be used to compensate for EU arms deliveries to Ukraine and to build up the country's defense industry. “According to my proposal, 90 percent of the proceeds will increase the financial capabilities of the European Peace Facility (EPF), 10 percent should flow into the development of the Ukrainian defense industry,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced on Tuesday in an interview with media from several countries. among them the FAZ. Weapons deliveries from member states to Ukraine are partially reimbursed from the EPF. According to Borrell, the total amount available is around three billion euros per year.
Borrell and the EU Commission want to present a corresponding communication and a draft regulation this Wednesday. Member States must decide unanimously on its use. It is not yet clear whether this will succeed. “Some member states are not yet convinced,” said the foreign representative, who discussed his plan with EU foreign ministers on Monday. Many countries signaled their approval, including Germany. However, Hungary is against it – as with all proposals to provide military support to Ukraine. Diplomats hope that in the end it will abstain constructively, which is possible when making decisions in the area of foreign and security policy. The non-alignment states Malta and Ireland are named as “shaky candidates”.
Immediately after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the EU froze a good 200 billion euros in Russian assets. They are held by the Belgian company Euroclear, a central administrator. Euroclear has reinvested the assets after their expiry period and can now skim off the interest accrued. The EU states laid the legal basis for this in mid-February. For a long time, Germany was skeptical about skimming off profits, but the federal government no longer wants to identify any legal problems.
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