Sweden Proposes EU Mechanism To Study Use Of Russia's Frozen Assets - Brussels

Sweden, which holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, has proposed a mechanism to explore legislative possibilities for using Russia's frozen assets in the interests of Ukraine, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2023) Sweden, which holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, has proposed a mechanism to explore legislative possibilities for using Russia's frozen assets in the interests of Ukraine, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said on Monday.

"We will work on a legislative framework that will allow us to seize the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs. This framework still needs development and we welcome the initiative proposed by the Swedish Presidency to put in place an appropriate mechanism to explore such a legislative possibility," Lahbib said at a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels.

Swedish EU Affairs Minister Jessika Roswall, in turn, stressed the importance of achieving progress on the issue and said that the EU foreign ministers would continue discussions of legal obstacles to the use of Russia's frozen assets for restoring Ukraine.

Western countries have frozen Russia's foreign currency reserves and halted international payments from Russian banks as part of sanctions against Moscow after it launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

In November, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the creation of a special structure to manage the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank and private assets to support Ukraine. However, a source in the Council of the European Union told RIA Novosti in late January that the possible use of Russia's frozen assets in the EU was accompanied by complex legal issues.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that the EU's attempts to confiscate frozen Russian assets is an expropriation of property, a violation of the European Constitution and of international law. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that Russia will do everything possible to return the seized assets, given the illegality of their seizure.