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German chancellor backs EU plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine arms (www.reuters.com)
submitted 6 months ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/europe@feddit.de
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Around 90% of the revenues generated from Russian frozen assets should be spent on arms purchases for Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, supporting an earlier EU proposal to use Russian assets' interest payments to boost Ukraine defence.

"It is important that we also agree that this money can be used for arms purchases not only in the EU, but for purchases worldwide," Scholz told journalists after a meeting with members of the three Baltic countries governments in Riga. In March, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed taking take 90% of revenues from Russian assets frozen in Europe and transfer them to an EU-run fund that finances weapons for Ukraine.

Some 70% of all Russian assets immobilised in the West are held in the central securities depository Euroclear in Belgium, which has the equivalent of 190 billion euros ($204.67 billion) worth of Russian central bank securities and cash.

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[-] Tetsuo@jlai.lu 8 points 6 months ago

I suppose it's better to make the money work and use the extra money than use all of it and not get any interest?

Just speculating but it would.be fairly logical especially if you plan to do it for a while.

[-] Blizzard@lemmy.zip 7 points 6 months ago

I mean, it probably depends on supply, because if being ready to spend all the funds right away and supply cannot meet demand - then it makes sense to make puchases gradually. I just suspect that they plan to unfreeze and return those funds to Russia in the future and that's bugging me. Bloody politics.

Also, how do these funds generating revenue if they are "frozen"?

[-] Tetsuo@jlai.lu 3 points 6 months ago

I was more thinking of investing the money on the markets like your bank does with the money in your bank account.

It's never just money sitting in an account, it's an opportunity for some banker to invest money they don't own to get richer themselves.

Honestly think it's almost impossible this money will be returned.

You wouldn't seize that much money to return it years later. It would be essentially an admission of guilt to return it. Nothing to win there politically.

The only scenario where the money could be returned would be if Russia somehow won this war and managed to patch things up with the EU. Very unlikely.

this post was submitted on 07 May 2024
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