On Tuesday 16 January, the Belgian Finance Minister, Vincent Van Peteghem, said that the Member States of the European Union had reaffirmed their “strong commitment” to “delivering quickly” on the legislative proposal to confiscate the income generated by the assets of the Central Bank of Russia frozen in the EU since Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine (see EUROPE 13312/4).
The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council has set itself a deadline of the end of February - approximately the second anniversary of the outbreak of war in Ukraine - to reach a unanimous agreement at the Ecofin Council. Further discussions are expected to take place at the level of the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) on Wednesday 24 January.
For the Swedish minister, Elisabeth Svantesson, who was delighted to have a concrete proposal on the table, reaching an agreement will take some time because “the Member States take different stances”.
According to a European source consulted on Monday, France and Germany have softened their stance, with the proposal helping to allay their fears for the reputation of the euro area. The fact that work is progressing in parallel within the G7, in which the United States and Canada participate, plays a role.
The Lithuanian minister, Gintarė Skaistė, urged her counterparts to make a quick decision. “We must understand that this decision will not be implemented retroactively. This means that every day counts”, she stressed, hoping the EU would play an active role in this area within the G7.
Of the €200 billion in Central Bank of Russia assets frozen in the EU, almost all have been frozen in Belgium. These liquid funds are held by the Euroclear bank clearing house, which is not responsible for growing them. The legislative initiative on the table, therefore, aims to ring-fence frozen assets.
Once the proposal has been adopted, the European Commission will have to present a new proposal to redirect the profits generated by the frozen Russian public assets, via the EU budget, to projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)