At the EU summit on October 1, no progress was made in granting Ukraine a loan of 140 billion euros using frozen Russian assets. Belgium, where most of the assets are held, demanded to "share the risk" among all EU countries, while France and Luxembourg expressed concerns about the legal implications, writes the Financial Times.
The European Commission's proposal does not imply confiscation of the Central Bank's assets, but their use as collateral for a loan: Ukraine will receive money that Russia will have to repay after the war as reparations. Only in this case will Moscow be able to recover its frozen assets.
As a result of the discussion, EU leaders concluded that it is necessary to further explore the legal and financial consequences of such a decision.
Nevertheless, there is consensus among summit participants to continue working on this issue. As noted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, interested countries "must work out the full proposal in much more detail."
The total amount of frozen Russian assets held in the Belgian securities depository Euroclear, which could form the basis for the loan, amounts to 175 billion euros. Western politicians are now talking about a "reparations loan" of a smaller size, taking into account previous loan programs for Ukraine.
By the EU summit in Copenhagen, Russia intensified threats against those countries that agree to use the frozen assets in Euroclear for Ukraine's benefit. According to estimates, Moscow could confiscate the property of European companies and individuals worth hundreds of millions of euros.
On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on an accelerated procedure for the sale of property held in federal ownership. The document allows for the privatization of property in the shortest possible time by presidential decision: the asset valuation in this case will take up to 10 days, and property registration will be carried out through a simplified procedure. Transactions will be conducted through the defense Promsvyazbank.
As Bloomberg writes, the decree will allow for the prompt seizure and resale of foreign assets located in Russia, in the event that the European Union uses frozen reserves to lend to Ukraine.