The European Union supports the use of proceeds from blocked Russian assets to provide financial support to Ukraine. In addition, the EU will consider ways to further expand this practice so that the damage caused to Ukraine by the Russian war is paid for not by European taxpayers, but by Russia itself.
This was stated by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, at a press conference in Luxembourg following the EU Ministerial Council on the economy and finance.
“The EU will work to mobilize more financial assistance for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. So, instead of taxpayers paying for the damage to Ukraine caused by Russia, it will be Russia itself,” the European Commission representative said.
He welcomed the agreement of the G7 leaders to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan using the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. Dombrovskis noted that most of these assets are blocked within the EU, amounting to more than €200 billion.
“According to the statement adopted at the G7 level, this loan should be available to Ukraine by the end of this year. The G7 is currently working on the operationalization of such commitments to use future flows of extraordinary revenues (from frozen Russian assets) to service and repay this loan. We are discussing our next steps, including the size of the (contribution) and modalities within the EU,” Dombrovskis said.
He noted that the EU, for its part, wants to provide most of the $50 billion loan agreed at the G7 level.
“At this stage, we cannot say the exact size of the loan from the EU, as it will also depend on the willingness of other G7 partners to contribute. We are also looking at how to ensure a proper risk sharing between the EU and other G7 partners, given the fact that most of these assets are located in the European Union,” added the European Commission’s Executive Vice President.
