"EU Moves to Accelerate Financial Aid to Ukraine from Frozen Russian Assets"

The European Commission is actively working on a strategy that could enable the transfer of the first tranche of 2-3 billion euros to Ukraine from the immobilized assets of the Russian Central Bank in the West, starting in July of this year. This initiative, highlighted by the Financial Times on March 11th citing informed sources, is part of a broader plan involving approximately 190 billion euros frozen at the Belgian depository Euroclear following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. These assets have already generated a profit of 3.85 billion euros, with projections suggesting total earnings could reach 20 billion euros by 2027.

Under the European Commission's proposal, the EU would allocate 97% of the net profits from these assets to the bloc's budget, which would then be distributed either quarterly or bi-annually. The funds are intended to be utilized for supporting Ukraine, with the initial disbursement of 2-3 billion euros anticipated in July.

The proposal is expected to be finalized by the mid-March summit of EU leaders and will require the European Commission's final approval and support from EU member states. This plan aligns with statements made by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on March 5th, discussing the potential use of Russian frozen assets to enhance Ukraine's military capabilities. This follows a suggestion by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to consider utilizing the surplus profits from these frozen assets for joint military procurement for Ukraine.

Significant milestones include the Council of the European Union's approval on February 12th of a regulation allowing the use of profits from Russian frozen assets for Ukraine and the agreement by EU ambassadors on January 29th to use these profits for Ukraine's recovery support. Borrell had previously announced that a decision on the use of immobilized Russian assets would be made before the next EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, slated for March 18th. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also noted that the framework for transferring the frozen Russian assets to Ukraine is being prepared.