In Europe, there is growing momentum for expanding the use of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine after new pressure from US President Donald Trump and a change in Germany's position, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
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According to sources familiar with the situation, European governments and their Group of Seven allies are looking for ways to further use frozen assets to generate additional revenue needed to support Ukraine's defense against Russia's war.
The vast majority of Moscow's approximately $300 billion in frozen assets are in Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her speech earlier this month that the EU needs to find new ways to make Russia pay for its war.
"We urgently need to work on a new solution to finance Ukraine's war effort based on frozen Russian assets," she said in her State of the Union address. "With the cash balances associated with these Russian assets, we can provide Ukraine with a reparations loan."
Germany, which has long been cautious about protecting Europe's financial center and upholding state immunity, has become a staunch supporter of maximizing the profitability of the funds, sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said. Berlin's change of position comes amid fears that if US support under Trump weakens, the burden of supporting Ukraine will fall heavily on Europe's largest economy, which could further contribute to the rise of the right in Germany, the publication writes.
This step will not lead to direct confiscation, which the US and some Eastern European countries continue to insist on. The EU, G7 countries, and Australia froze Russian central bank assets after the invasion and last year agreed to direct interest income to Ukraine.
The topic is expected to be raised by some EU finance ministers at a meeting in Copenhagen this week, as well as by EU leaders in October, officials said. Ideally, a decision should be made at the EU leaders' summit on October 23-24.