A coalition of EU member states is urging the European Commission to resume efforts to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to help finance Ukraine.
According to Ukrinform, the Financial Times reports this, citing people familiar with the matter.
Plans to finance Ukraine using more than €200 billion in Russian central bank assets frozen under EU sanctions collapsed last winter after Belgium, where most of the assets are held, blocked the initiative.
According to the sources, a coalition of EU member states, including Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland, will send a letter to the European Commission on Thursday, August 27, urging the EU executive to resume work on the proposal and clarify whether any progress has been made in developing alternative legal and technical frameworks that could circumvent Belgium’s veto.
“Now is the time to start a new discussion about how we can make further use of Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine’s, and our, benefit. This is the fair and smart way to make sure that Ukraine can defend itself and all of Europe,” said Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard.
