The EU will form a task force on Wednesday to study how billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets, including Russian central bank reserves, could be used to rebuild Ukraine.
This was announced by the Swedish government on Tuesday.
“The mandate is to help paint a picture of the funds frozen by the EU…and secondly, how to legally access these funds,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference in Stockholm.
According to him, there is no preliminary model for dealing with Russian assets, and the EU must ensure that the appropriate legal procedures are in place.
“It is Russian taxpayers, and not all other taxpayers, who should bear the costs of the necessary restoration work,” Kristersson added.
Remember that Sweden currently chairs the EU.
The working group will be led by Anders Anlid, head of the Swedish National Board of Trade.
Among the main assets, Anlid said, would be Russian central bank funds, which are expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars.
“The EU has never used frozen funds to rebuild a war-torn country, so we are opening up new territory in a sense,” Anlid added.
