According to the Financial Times, the European Central Bank (ECB) has refused to approve the payment of 140 billion euros to Ukraine as collateral for Russian assets held in the Belgian depository Euroclear.
Points of attention
- Alternative proposals are being considered by the European Union authorities to provide temporary liquidity support for Ukraine.
- The decision by the ECB has spurred discussions on finding viable solutions to support Ukraine without compromising on financial regulations and risking backlash from Russia.
What is known about the ECB decision?
As journalists managed to find out, the ECB nevertheless decided that the European Commission's proposal regarding Ukraine violates its mandate.
Anonymous sources claim that European leaders have approached the bank with a request to act as a lender for Euroclear Bank.
The main idea was to prevent a liquidity crisis.
Insiders told the media that the ECB found this impossible, concluding that the EC's proposal was effectively identical to providing direct financing to governments, as the regulator would cover the financial obligations of member states.
After the announcement of this decision, the European Union authorities have already begun work on alternative proposals.
It is quite possible that they will provide temporary liquidity to support a loan of 140 billion euros for Ukraine.
As mentioned earlier, Belgium opposes the use of frozen Russian assets to lend to Ukraine.
She is afraid of facing a harsh reaction from the aggressor country, Russia.
