EU members have already seized assets worth 9.89 billion euros
The EU is making progress in its work to apply sanctions on Russia and support the reconstruction of Ukraine. This Wednesday, the European Commission has proposed that non-compliance with the sanctions be prosecuted throughout the European territory, which would provide a legal basis to be able to confiscate the assets of oligarchs in the future.
Four countries have even proposed that these assets and the frozen reserves of the Russian Central Bank be used for this purpose – amounting to some 300,000 million euros – for the reconstruction of Ukraine. However, the European Commission has not yet made any proposal in this regard. On the other hand, it has ruled on the need to carry out a modification in community legislation that allows the confiscation of assets seized from Russian oligarchs complicit in the Russian invasion.
Brussels remains awaiting the approval of the Twenty-seven and the European Parliament to classify the evasion of sanctions as a crime in the EU, before presenting its legislative proposal. Since the start of the Russian invasion, member states have seized assets worth 9.89 billion euros. Flats, works of art, yachts… which according to current regulations can only be seized in certain countries. In Spain, for example, non-compliance with sanctions hardly constitutes an administrative fault.
veto oil
Meanwhile, the work to adopt the sixth package of sanctions – which includes the ban on Russian oil – continues. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has been optimistic this Wednesday and has indicated that he trusts in unblocking the negotiations and approving the new battery of punishments to Moscow before the European summit next Monday.
At a press conference with the Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Anderson, Michel assured “to have confidence” in reaching an agreement soon. “It is not easy, but we do not throw in the towel and we work hard and I hope that we can again show that we are united and the European Council is an important moment to show unity”, she stressed.
Cutting off oil imports means a “difficult” transition, especially for countries like Lithuania and Hungary, whose supply is totally dependent on Russia. The Hungarian government has opposed any energy sanctions from the outset and has asked for a three-year window to cut its commercial ties with Moscow. Despite the fact that there are still details to discuss, such as the potential aid that the country would receive from the EU to compensate for the expenses generated by the veto on Russian oil, the two parties have moved closer to each other.
In this same sense, the European Commission has announced the creation of a specialized working group to cut Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2030. The committee of experts will help Member States and neighboring countries to access alternative energy supply at affordable prices in the coming years, a job that it will carry out together with the EU Energy Platform.
The experts will begin work on June 1 with the aim of addressing the main points of the REPower EU plan, which focuses on the aggregation of demand, the coordination of storage and the negotiation of energy supply.
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