The European Commission plans to raise returns of around 2.6% from investing the EU frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank, the Politico newspaper reported, citing a document at its disposal
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2023) The European Commission plans to raise returns of around 2.6% from investing the EU frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank, the Politico newspaper reported, citing a document at its disposal.
Brussels estimates that around two-thirds of the cumulative $300 billion of Russian central bank reserves frozen in the Western countries are now held in the European Union, the report said. In particular, 191 billion euros ($206 billion) are held in Belgium and 21 billion euros in another unnamed EU member state. However, the bloc does not have complete data on the location of all Russian central bank reserves, the newspaper reported.
Investing these funds in "liquid, highly-rated assets" may yield "meaningful annual revenues with a median of around 2.6 percent," the European Commission said in the document, as quoted by Politico.
While investing in equity would be more profitable, it also entails a higher risk of losses, which may amount to 4 billion euros per year. This, in turn, would entail "political and financial implications" if Brussels were to reimburse these losses to Moscow, the newspaper reported.
The commission's document is slated to be discussed by national experts at a meeting on March 28.
Western countries have frozen around half of Russia's foreign currency reserves, an equivalent of $300 billion, and halted international payments from Russian banks as part of sanctions against Moscow after it launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Last month, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders said that the EU had frozen the assets of Russian organizations and individuals worth 21.5 billion euros.
In November 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the creation of a special structure to manage the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank and private assets to support Ukraine. However, a source in the Council of the European Union told RIA Novosti in late January that the possible use of Russia's frozen assets in the EU was accompanied by complex legal issues.
Moscow has repeatedly said that the bloc's attempts to confiscate frozen Russian assets are an expropriation of property in violation of international law. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also said that Russia will do everything possible to return the assets, given the illegality of their seizure.
