Income from frozen Russian assets in the EU will be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine. The decision of all 27 members of the block must be taken unanimously.
Will EU be able to use Russia's assets to purchase weapons for Ukraine
If member states agree (it must be a unanimous decision on the High Representative's proposal), we could use the windfall from Russian frozen assets to purchase weapons for Ukraine and/or help strengthen its defense industry, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs said and security policy Josep Borrell.
According to him, the possibility of using this profit to support the recovery of Ukraine was considered until now.
However, now the main issue in Ukraine is not so much recovery as prevention of further destruction, said the head of EU diplomacy.
He added that if the member states agree, using these resources to provide additional military support to Ukraine through the European Peace Fund would make sense.
In a more long-term perspective, we could also use these funds to support the Ukrainian defense and industrial base, Borrell stated.
Use of Russian assets
At the end of February, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that "it is time to start a conversation about using windfall profits from frozen Russian assets for the joint purchase of military equipment for Ukraine."
After the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, Western countries froze Russian assets of approximately 300 billion euros. The lion's share of the assets — essentially securities invested by the Russian central bank — are frozen in the Euroclear depository located in Brussels, which received 3.25 billion euros in profit from these assets.
