“Today we don’t have a legal framework to do it.” Emmanuel Macron wants to be clear about the issue of frozen Russian assets: Talking on TF1 on Tuesday, May 13, says the European Union cannot understand frozen assets since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
“Today they are in Belgium, and respect for the Belgian prime minister. The best legal services in the European Commission, in Belgium, have looked at. We do not want to be in a framework where we decide ourselves, we can understand,” said Emmanuel Macron.
“First you must ensure these assets”
The debate on the use of these assets has been furious in European institutions for two years, among the supporters of the seizure and those who wish to respect the current legal framework. An seizure of this magnitude, around 220 billion euros, mainly in reserves of the Russian Central Bank, would not have precedents.
The President of the Republic establishes two objectives, on the contrary. First he hopes that the assets, currently administered by the Euroclear Company in Belgium, be safe.
It also contrasts the debate on the reconstruction of Ukraine: it wants assets to be used to finance it. “At the time of the conflict agreement, it will be necessary to use these assets to finance reconstruction,” said Emmanuel Macron. Remembering that the 220 billion euros, particularly debt titles, produce annual interests, and that these interests are already committed to requesting funds for Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
