Sweden to push for frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine, finance minister says
Sweden intends to push for an EU decision to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, despite the contradictions on this issue, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
"We will do everything possible to ensure that all countries support this plan," the agency quoted Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson as saying.
According to her, some countries are more reserved and do not want to do as much to finance Ukraine as Sweden, as well as the Nordic and Baltic states.
Earlier it was reported that the European Commission is considering the possibility of using Russian frozen assets in the amount of about EUR 170 billion, which are currently stored in the Euroclear financial depository, located in Brussels. It is assumed that EUR 140 billion of these funds will go to a reparations loan to Ukraine. This issue is expected to be considered at the EU summit on October 23-24.
Meanwhile, Politico previously reported that Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever expressed concerns about such plans at a recent informal EU summit in Copenhagen. He said that the European Commission's scheme to use frozen Russian assets is essentially tantamount to confiscation.
In addition, the Belgian prime minister has put forward another condition: the guarantees will not automatically end after the possible lifting of sanctions against Russia, imposed in response to Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, as legal proceedings could take several years.
The Financial Times previously reported that EU countries have increased pressure on Belgium due to its slowness in granting permission to use frozen Russian assets under its jurisdiction to support Ukraine.