On Monday 15 April, Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) failed to reach unanimous agreement on the legislative proposal to mobilise the profits generated by the assets of the Central Bank of Russia frozen in the EU, in order to use them primarily to support Ukraine’s war effort.
The Belgian Presidency of the EU Council spared no effort in presenting a compromise text within a very tight timeframe. The text on the table would now answer the legal questions raised by the Member States and would only encounter technical obstacles.
“We are in the process of finalising the final legal text”, which this year provides for 90% of the assets - i.e. “around €3 billion” - to be allocated to military assistance for Ukraine and the rest to the country’s reconstruction, said a European diplomat on Tuesday 16 April. “Each year, we will review the allocation according to need”, she added. According to this source, the proposal will be finalised “at the end of April or beginning of May, so that the first funds can be transferred in the summer”.
Belgium, where Euroclear, which holds almost all of the assets in question, is based, hopes to be able to reach a political agreement with the Council at a forthcoming Coreper meeting in the coming days. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)