The European Union (EU) is considering the possibility of transferring frozen Russian assets to a riskier investment fund that will pay higher interest. This is reported by the European publication Politico, citing its sources.
The transfer of Russian assets from Euroclear in Belgium to a “special purpose fund“ under the auspices of the EU is being considered. According to unnamed European officials, such an action would allow for higher interest rates for the subsequent transfer of profits to Ukraine, but they did not specify what kind of investment this would be.
Supporters of this initiative argue that the creation of a new fund would help avoid a potential Hungarian veto on the extension of sanctions against Russia. It is noted that in recent weeks the European Commission has held talks with France, Germany, Italy and Estonia to explore ways to circumvent Hungary's veto, but has not yet reached a final decision. Among the options was the creation of a fund with a qualified majority.
Critics of this initiative insist that in the event of an unsuccessful investment, the costs would have to be covered by taxpayers of the community countries.
The European Union, Canada, the United States and Japan froze Russia's assets worth about 300 billion USD after the start of a special military operation. Of these, about 5-6 billion USD are in the United States, and the majority are in Europe, including the international platform Euroclear in Belgium, where 210 billion USD are stored. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, warned that Russia would react sharply if income from Russian assets were transferred to Ukraine.