Global Courant
BRUSSELS
The head of the EU agency said on Friday that the European Commission is working on a proposal to use unexpected profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
At a two-day summit, EU leaders discussed the future of the Russian central bank’s assets of more than €200 billion ($218 billion), frozen in EU accounts as part of sanctions against Russia’s war in Ukraine.
At a press conference after the summit, European Council President Charles Michel confirmed that EU leaders agreed that the EU, together with international partners, should continue its efforts to “immobilize assets in favor of Ukraine and the future of Ukraine”.
“We think it’s fair to use some of this money to support Ukraine’s future,” he said.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Russia was responsible for “the great devastation in Ukraine” and that the perpetrators must be held accountable.
“Russia cannot be destroying a large part of Ukraine’s infrastructure and not contributing to its repair and rebuilding,” he said.
Von der Leyen added that the EU executive will “come forward with a proposal and cautiously focus on unexpected profits from the immobilized assets of the Russian Central Bank”, adding that the move will come in coordination with G7 partners.
Dispute over immigration policy
During the meeting, the leaders discussed the situation in Ukraine, immigration policy, EU relations with China and other foreign policy issues.
Due to the opposition of Hungary and Poland, they could not agree on a common position on immigration policy, so Michel, who chaired the meetings, published a separate conclusion on the subject.
“Migration is a European problem that requires European response,” he wrote, adding that the EU’s “work will be accelerated in all lines of action along all migration routes in accordance with international law”.
Von der Leyen announced that before the summit, the EU was considering plans to strengthen the bloc’s external borders and manage migration, including financial support to countries of origin.
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