EU Parliament backs bloc’s Russian asset seizure plan
The European Parliament has endorsed an EU plan to seize the profits generated by Russia’s frozen sovereign assets and to use them to provide military aid to Ukraine. Brussels recently agreed to send some of the interest generated by the funds to Kiev, after months of deliberations and legal concerns.
In its first resolution adopted since the EU parliamentary election last month, the bloc’s law-making body pledged to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes until victory.”
“MEPs [Members of the European Parliament] welcome recent EU efforts to direct revenues coming from frozen Russian assets to support the Ukrainian war effort,” reads the press release published on the Parliament’s website on Wednesday.
The document notes, however, that MEPs also want a “sound legal regime for the confiscation of Russian state-owned assets frozen by the EU.”
The EU immobilized about €210 billion of sovereign wealth belonging to Russia’s central bank as part of sanctions imposed on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine. The bulk of Russia’s assets are held in Euroclear, a privately owned Brussels-based depository and clearing house, and generated roughly €4.4 billion in interest last year. In June, the EU decided to use some of the interest to purchase ammunition and aerial defense systems for Kiev.
Russia has said any actions taken against its assets would amount to “theft,” stressing that seizing the funds or similar moves would violate international law and lead to retaliation. It has also warned that aiding Kiev only prolongs the conflict.
The EU Parliament has also called on the bloc to “maintain and extend” its sanctions policy on Russia and its ally Belarus, and tackle circumvention of the measures, including by third countries.
