ROME, December 17. /TASS/. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is concerned as many others are that using frozen Russian assets as a "reparations loan" to Ukraine will be an overall legal and financial nightmare, and cause problems for Italian companies continuing to operate in Russia, the national Radio-1 reported.
As it points out, Italy is part of a group of countries headlined by Belgium that are against the Russian asset scheme. The radio station recalls that Meloni signed a letter requesting "the exploration of less risky alternatives."
Rome also does not want financial support for Ukraine to impact the state's accounts.
As a source close to the government noted in a conversation with a TASS correspondent, Meloni is still pro-Ukraine, but cannot undertake certain obligations, particularly those related to financial guarantees, due to a "lack of funds."
On December 12, the Council of the European Union adopted a decision to permanently freeze Russia's sovereign assets. The European Commission (EC) hopes to secure a decision from EU countries at the December 18-19 summit to expropriate 210 billion euros in Russian assets, 185 billion of which are blocked on the Euroclear platform in Belgium, to finance Kiev.
On December 3, when the EC presented its alternative plans for financing Kiev by expropriating Russian assets under the guise of a "reparations loan" or by raising a pan-European loan through the issuance of Eurobonds, it mentioned two amounts. In the case of a pan-European loan, the financing for Kiev would amount to 90 billion euros over two years, while in the case of expropriating Russian assets, the amount would be 140 billion euros over the same period. However, various reputable financial institutions have pointed out that these schemes violate international law.
Opinions and doubts
Earlier, the Euractiv portal reported that the number of EU countries opposing the European Commission's initiative had grown to seven, and any attempt to push the decision through would cause a serious rift within the European Union. Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia, which initially opposed the project, were joined by Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic. Euractiv claims that the latter four countries oppose the European Commission's plan due to their governments' stance, notably pro-Trump, and the US believes that the expropriation of Russian assets could undermine the prospects for a swift settlement in Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a decision on the expropriation of Russian assets will likely not be made at the upcoming EU summit on December 18-19. He also believes that "the potential use of Russian assets for the restoration of Ukraine is light years away."
Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the confiscation of Russian assets, currently being discussed in Europe, would constitute an act of theft. As Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko told TASS, the country's leadership has already been presented with options for responding to the possible seizure of Russian assets by Western countries.