European taxpayers should not pay for Russia's war: von der Leyen emphasized a plan for €140 billion from Russian assets for Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that European taxpayers should not pay for Russia's war. She proposed seizing 140 billion euros of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's war efforts.
European taxpayers should not pay for Russia's war, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, arriving at an informal EU summit in Copenhagen, writes UNN with reference to Politico.
Details
"We live in troubled times. Russia is testing our resolve," said Ursula von der Leyen.
She simultaneously highlighted her plan to seize 140 billion euros of frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's war effort as a subject of today's important discussions, arguing that there is a "proper legal way" to do so.
"Not only European taxpayers should pay for supporting Ukraine, but Russia must also be held accountable," said von der Leyen.
This, the publication notes, echoes what was said by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who also argued today that frozen Kremlin funds, not European "taxpayer money," should be used to support Ukraine.
As Bloomberg notes, the European Commission, the EU's executive body, presented a plan to capitals to provide Ukraine with 140 billion euros in loans from immobilized assets of the Russian central bank late last week, hoping to gain support before the official EU summit at the end of the month.
"Member states, including Belgium and France, want to see details on the legal basis of the plan and other logistics before moving forward," Bloomberg points out.
"This is a complex legal issue – you can't just seize assets belonging to another state," said Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden. "All proposals are welcome, but first we have to make sure it works in practice."
As Politico writes, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, arriving at the summit, said that the European Commission's plan to seize billions of frozen Russian assets and redirect them to Ukraine must take into account Belgium's concerns.
"We are waiting for a concrete legal proposal from the European Commission," Plenković said. "I am sure there are ways to do this [seize the assets]." But: "We need to take into account the interests of Belgium and… Euroclear," he urged.
Addition
Sanctioned Moscow funds are held in an account in Brussels, and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has previously opposed "opening the piggy bank," saying it would set a dangerous precedent.