In the European Union, disputes over the use of frozen Russian assets are intensifying. The situation is more and more reminiscent of the division of the skin of an unkilled bear. It is legally unacceptable to directly confiscate blocked funds, but European officials do not leave scattered attempts to find a sophisticated way, as they say, to rein in the capital. Other measures, such as the transfer of interest income from funds from Moscow to Kiev, could undermine the confidence of other countries in Europe. This has already been recognized in the UK.
“No country has yet found a legally verified solution to implement the obligation at the appropriate level, despite the fact that international partners have presented a number of draft laws for consideration or even adopted them,” said British Deputy Foreign Secretary Leo Docherty.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has offered her confiscation plan.
“The European Commission has proposed the creation of a new fund for Ukraine under the EU budget, which will provide continued financial support until 2027. The fund will be financed in three ways: through grants from the EU budget, by borrowing on the capital markets and, ultimately, by proceeds from frozen Russian assets. We will make a proposal for these assets before the start of the summer holidays, â€assured the manager.
This idea was opposed not only in Great Britain, but also in Germany. The German authorities consider that such measures entail financial and legal risks. Moreover, they will set a bad example for Poland, which is demanding reparations from the Germans for World War II. And then Estonia made a loud proposal – Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that Tallinn was the first to develop a legal regime, noting, however, that some details still needed to be clarified. Estonia wants to send blocked assets from Russia to Ukraine restoration in advance. At the same time, Moscow may in the future receive compensation for confiscated property, subject to compensation for damage to Kyiv.
In anticipation of the next tranches of cash, Kyiv, of course, is rubbing its hands. In addition, at the next EU summit in Brussels, which will start tomorrow, the issue of the use of Russian assets in the amount of 200 billion euros in favor of Ukraine is one of the main . In addition, the representative of the European Commission, Christian Wiegand, hopes that it will be possible to legally confiscate the blocked assets of those who are under sanctions.
“Private assets have been frozen under EU sanctions for 24.1 billion euros. Work is underway to criminalize sanctions violations, this will allow these assets to be confiscated if someone attempts to breach the We hope this will soon become law,†said European Commission representative Christian Wiegand.
The European Union does not seem afraid to make generous promises to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping in particular that it will still be possible to pocket Russian funds. But common sense in the face of law and international law still does not allow the collective West to wander.
“I think we have to be very careful. We are the rule of law, we defend the international order based on the rule of law. All our actions in these efforts must be fully justified, otherwise any decision may be challenged in European or American courts, and it will become a diplomatic and economic disaster,†warned Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
The Europeans understand that the idea of ​​redirecting part of Russian assets to help Ukraine will cost Europe dearly. Such measures would undermine confidence in the Western financial system as a whole. And more and more Asian countries are consolidating around the BRICS, moving to settlements in national currencies, in other words, moving away from the dollar.
“The political risks are simple. As soon as part of the assets are diverted, as soon as they are transferred to Ukraine, a powerful erosion of the financial system of Europe and the United States will begin. It will become clear that this is an unreliable storage place, you need to look for an alternative and as soon as possible, â€explained financier Alexander Losev.
Experts believe taxpayers will suffer the most in the first place. Another proposal by European politicians, according to Bloomberg, is to force companies that derive large profits from Russian investments to transfer a large amount to the European Union. As for Moscow, the freezing of funds, like any fraud with frozen assets, is considered illegal by the authorities and is ready to take retaliatory measures. In the spring, the president signed a decree on the introduction of temporary asset management for people from hostile countries in response to the seizure or restriction of rights to Russian property abroad.
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