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The European Union is advancing work on broader mechanisms to channel frozen Russian assets toward supporting Ukraine, while ensuring that investor confidence in the eurozone remains intact, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe told reporters in Copenhagen on Friday, Ukrinform reports.
“First of all, we have already made significant progress on how to use the profits from immobilized assets thanks to the work carried out on ERA loans during the year. We are now considering further steps regarding these assets, and this work is also continuing within the G7,” Donohoe said.
He described the current talks as “important and constructive”, recalling that Europe has always been at the forefront of finding ways to support Ukraine’s economy, people and security.
“And we want to look at new ways in which we can do so,” he added.
When asked about possible mechanisms for using frozen Russian assets beyond redirecting profits, Donohoe confirmed that discussions are ongoing.
“I would just emphasize that we are well aware of the need to maintain confidence in the eurozone and of the importance of taking this into account when it comes to immobilized assets. This was recognized in the decisions made on ERA loans and in the discussions currently underway,” he stressed.
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot reiterated his country’s firm opposition to transferring frozen Russian assets — most of which are held in Belgian banks — to directly finance aid to Ukraine.
Under Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, around €200 billion of Russian funds remain frozen, the bulk of which are held at the Euroclear depository under EU financial market law.
Prévot warned that breaking these rules, even in the context of an existential war, could jeopardize the trust of international investors in Belgium and the EU.
The European Commission is currently working on a scheme to direct nearly €200 billion in frozen Russian assets toward Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
