“EU agrees to arm Ukraine using profits from Russian state assets”
“Belgium’s central securities depository Euroclear expected to start transferring money to bloc in July”
“EU countries have agreed to use an estimated €3bn in profits arising from Russia’s frozen state assets to jointly buy weapons for Ukraine.
The deal struck by the bloc’s 27 ambassadors on Wednesday only targets profits made by Belgium’s central securities depository Euroclear, where about €190bn of Russian central bank assets are held. Western nations immobilised Russia’s state assets abroad in 2022, in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The European Commission expects Euroclear to hand over about €3bn a year which will be transferred to the bloc’s funds biannually, with a first payout expected in July. The measure will apply to profits Euroclear starts accruing as of mid-February 2024.
Of that, 90 per cent would be used for buying arms and military equipment for Kyiv’s forces, while the remaining 10 per cent would be used for reconstruction. That split assuages concerns by militarily neutral EU countries Austria, Malta, Cyprus and Ireland who want a share of profits to finance non-military purposes.”
https://www.ft.com/content/10d3f259-44fe-4361-b322-2a485a0efe45