Borrell: profits of Russian assets should fund Ukraine arms, industry
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The profits from Russian assets frozen in the European Union should be split between topping-up a fund used to arm Ukraine and supporting Ukrainian industry, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.
Borrell said he would propose that 90% of the profits used should go to the European Peace Facility (EPF), an off-budget fund used for military equipment. He said the other 10% should go to the EU budget, "not to buy arms but to increase the defence capacity of the Ukrainian industry."
EU member states have already agreed in principle that revenues from frozen Russian assets - though not the assets themselves - can be used to support Ukraine in some form or another. But they are waiting for the European Commission to come up with concrete proposals for how the money should be spent.
On February 28, commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union should "start a conversation" about buying armaments for Kiev using the profits from the assets, which the EU froze in response to Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, Borrell explained that the EU budget itself cannot be used to buy weapons, which is why the EPF exists outside the EU budget.
Borrell, a member of the commission, stressed that it was ultimately for EU member states to decide what happens to the money.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers signed-off on an agreement struck by ambassadors on March 13 to add a €5 billion "Ukraine Assistance Fund" to the EPF.
Borrell's 90/10 split notwithstanding, a portion of the revenues may be left untouched so that the institutions holding the frozen assets can manage legal risks and comply with financial rules, officials told dpa.
