The EU will assess the possibility of withdrawing Russian funds
The European Union is creating a working group that will study the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to restore Ukraine.
As informs the press service of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced this.
According to him, everything in this matter looks extremely unambiguous, since “Russia must pay for the restoration of Ukraine.” However, he added that accomplishing this task poses difficult questions.
“This has to be done in accordance with EU legislation and international law, and there is currently no direct model for this,” said Kristersson.
It is expected that this group will deal with the legal, financial and political analysis of the possibilities of using Russian funds that have been frozen in the EU.
Issues of its competence will be considered on February 15, and the group will be headed by the former ambassador of Sweden to the EU, now the head of the foreign trade department (Kommerskollegium) Anders Anlid.
As previously reported, after the start of the invasion, the United States, the European Union and the G7 countries reported blocking half of Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves, or about $300 billion.
For now, they remain frozen in bank accounts. However, on February 3, US Attorney General Merrick Garland for the first time allowed the confiscation of Russian oligarch’s funds to be transferred to Ukraine, which became the first such case in history.
