EU Com VP-Should Be Decision On Russian Assets For Ukraine In H124

Wires carrying comments from European Commission Exec VP Valdis Dombrovskis regarding the prospect of using the profits from frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's war effort. Says that he hopes the EU will agree on the measure soon, saying that a decision from the Union "should come in the first half of 2024." Says that the G7 is "discussing different options to use Russian assets as collateral to provide loans for Ukraine."

• The use of profits from Russian assets frozen in the West following the invasion of Ukraine has shown something of a division between the US and EU in recent days and weeks. At a Council for Foreign Relations event in Washington, D.C., on 17 April, ECB President Christine Lagarde said that using the assets themselves would risk undermining international law. There are also concerns in the EU that any asset grab could undermine Europe's attractiveness as a financial destination, and potentially the euro currency as it does not enjoy the same global status as the US dollar.
• The US has pressed the EU towards some form of measure that would provide additional funding for Ukraine using the assets. Earlier in April Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh said that the US and its allies must “explore every possible avenue to maximize the value of the immobilized reserves for Ukraine.”