The unanimous decision taken yesterday will have to be formalized in the coming weeks, writes the Financial Times.
Of the €260 billion in Russian foreign reserves, which were frozen in 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, €191 billion is held at the Belgian central securities depository Euroclear, generating billions of euros in income when the securities expire and the assets are reinvested.
According to the agreement concluded yesterday, the proceeds generated by Euroclear will be set aside separately and will not be paid as dividends until the countries of the European Union decide unanimously to create a financial support mechanism for the European Union budget, which will be collected from this income to support Ukraine, the Financial Times reports, referring to the draft document.
According to the Financial Times, the text states that this tax is in line with applicable contractual obligations and with European Union and international law. The proposal only affects future income and does not apply retroactively.
Member States also determine the amount that CSDs can retain in addition to legal and administrative costs.
The European Commission’s proposals on Russian assets did not go so far as to recommend confiscating the proceeds and transferring them to the European Union budget, given European Central Bank concerns that this could cause financial instability and provoke Russian retaliation.
The US proposal, supported by Britain, Japan and Canada, would see the total confiscation of Russian assets, not just revenue, but is opposed by European G7 members Germany, Italy and France.
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2024-01-30 08:01:51
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