BRUSSELS, December 6. /TASS/. The majority of EU member countries do not support the plan proposed by Spain to finance Ukraine by tapping into frozen Russian assets due to the non-feasibility of reaping quick returns on them, Politico Europe reported, citing European officials.
According to the sources, representatives of several EU countries said at a meeting on Tuesday night that Madrid’s proposal "didn't satisfy the EU’s priority of supporting Ukraine" because it would take Kiev months, if not years, to receive this money. According to several EU ambassadors, profits from the Russian assets "would not give Ukraine’s economy the urgent boost it needs" but, on the contrary, the plan "risks undermining the EU’s commitment to provide support" to Ukraine. The meeting’s participants also questioned the figures cited by Spain, which claimed that profits from Russian reserves frozen in EU countries could bring Kiev 15-17 bln euros by 2027.
The publication noted that Madrid’s proposal, which is slated to be discussed at the EU summit on December 14-15, "was so contrary to the views of most other governments" that a number of diplomats suggested to Politico that the Spanish officials who put it together had "little knowledge of the mood across the rest of the EU." Several diplomats even wondered whether Madrid is actually seeking to bring in additional funds to resolve the European Union’s own internal crises instead of helping Kiev. "It seems like a back door to try to use the extra funds for Ukraine for other spending that coincidentally is on Spain’s own wish list," one of the diplomats said.
Earlier, Reuters reported that on December 12 the European Commission (EC) will present a plan for channeling revenues from taxes on profits generated from reinvesting frozen sovereign Russian assets toward assistance for Ukraine. This plan will be discussed by EU leaders at the December 14-15 summit, but currently there is no consensus among EU countries on the proposal. According to the news agency, the plan clarifies several issues in need of coordination raised by several EU countries; for instance, that the tax imposed by the EU does not intersect with national taxes and duties. Reuters notes that should the EC approve these proposals on December 12, that would green-light them for further discussion at the EU summit on December 14-15.
According to the EC experts, income earned from approximately 200 bln euros worth of Russian assets frozen in European countries may be subject to taxation. The total return from reinvesting these assets, in particular through the Belgium-based Euroclear platform, would be about 3 bln euros, according to data from November 2023. Earlier, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that in 2024 the Belgian government was planning to earmark special taxes charged on the latter amount, for a total of 1.7 bln euros, for a support fund for Kiev.