Bloomberg reported that the EU urged not to rush to use the frozen assets of Russia. In particular, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium are wary of attempts to speed up the process.
A number of major EU member states, among them France, Germany, Italy and Belgium, believe it is necessary to take a cautious approach to speeding up agreement on a plan to utilise the proceeds from Russia’s frozen assets, Bloomberg news agency reported, citing sources.
“Member states including France, Germany, Italy and Belgium are cautious about accelerating efforts to use profits from Russian central bank assets under sanctions to support Ukraine,” the article said.
Russia’s assets blocked in Europe generated nearly three billion euros in profits from the time sanctions were imposed until the end of the third quarter of 2023. The European Central Bank and some EU members were sceptical about the idea of using this money to help Ukraine.
The publication noted from sources that key EU countries told the European Commission at a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, 8 November that “they would prefer a more gradual approach” on this issue.
Earlier, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin said that the Russian economy is undergoing a process of great transformation. According to him, the most difficult period in this situation has already passed.