EU agrees to European Commission's proposal to use windfall profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

BRUSSELS. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Ambassadors of the European Union countries on Monday agreed to the European Commission's proposal to use windfall profits from Russian assets frozen in Europe to help fund Ukraine's reconstruction.

"EU ambassadors just agreed in principle on a proposal on the use of windfall profits related to immobilized assets to support Ukraine's reconstruction," the EU presidency said on social media.

The European Commission drafted such a proposal in December 2023.

Bloomberg said earlier in January, citing its sources, that the EU was progressing with plans to apply a windfall tax to the profits generated by frozen Russian assets. Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, a number of EU countries, including Germany, have made it clear that they are opposed to confiscating the Russian assets.

According to media, more than 200 billion euros of frozen Russian assets is held in the EU, mainly in the Belgian clearing house Euroclear.

The Belgian authorities announced in October 2023 that they would set up a 1.7 billion euro fund for Ukraine using tax revenue from profits generated by Russian assets frozen in EU countries. The European Union decided in March 2022 to freeze Russia's assets held in EU countries.