Ukraine will be able to use the first funds from such revenues by the summer of this year. European Commission Speaker Christian Wigand said this today in Brussels during a press briefing, writes Ukrinform.
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What is known
“The new proposal envisages that these proceeds will be used to support Ukraine with an immediate focus on financing military equipment and (in the medium to long term) reconstruction. This proposal is currently being discussed. We hope for a speedy agreement between the member countries so that the first payments can be made by the summer,” Wiegand said.
Read: The EU agreed to send 90% income from Russian assets for weapons for Ukraine
He noted that, as a rule, the European Commission “does not comment on comments,” but recalled how the situation developed around the possible use of Russian financial assets frozen on EU territory.
The first proposal, which the European Commission made in December 2023 and came into force in February of this year, fixed the withholding of accrued interest on separate accounts, in particular from Russian assets held in European financial institutions.As the second Steps The European Commission and the EU High Representative unveiled a proposal on March 20 to use these emergency revenues, derived from interest accruals on frozen Russian assets, to provide military aid for Ukraine.
This proposal has already been discussed several times at the level of working groups of the Council of the European Union, as well as in the Coreper format. The next such discussion, we expect, will take place tomorrow. Therefore, we hope for the speedy adoption of this proposal by the member states,” added the representative of the European Commission.
Recall
On May 6, during a speech at the EU-Ukraine Defense Industry Forum in Brussels, the High Representative E S Josep Borrell noted: once member countries agree to use proceeds from Russian blocked assets, these resources will be directed to Ukraine to respond to its urgent military needs, in particular, to develop the Ukrainian defense industry and weapons production in Ukraine.
After the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, democracies around the world blocked Russian financial assets exceeding 300 billion euros. According to some estimates, most of these assets are located in financial institutions in the territory of the European Union, in particular in Belgium.