EU still hasn't acted to provide Ukraine with $50bn from frozen Russian assets

Politico reports this.

The publication recalled that at the June summit in Italy, G7 leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, promised to provide Ukraine with about $50 billion by the end of the year using the proceeds of frozen Russian sovereign assets.

To make this possible, the EU had to pass a law to extend the freezing of Russian assets until Moscow pays in full for its war against Ukraine.

This would guarantee that the frozen assets would remain available to generate the interest needed to repay the $50 billion in financial aid provided to Ukraine.

According to the publication, the implementation of this decision in the EU has reached a deadlock, and none of the key EU leaders - neither German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, nor French President Emmanuel Macron, nor Ursula von der Leyen - has taken an active part in the implementation of this process. At the same time, the United States cannot move forward on this issue without changes to EU legislation.

‘And as anyone who watched Washington struggle with its military assistance package for Ukraine earlier this year knows, that simply wouldn’t happen fast enough — if at all.,’ the publication noted.

What is the reason for the delay in EU decisions?

According to Politico, the most obvious reason for the delay is simple bureaucratic inertia after the European Parliament elections. There were also summer holidays, and Brussels is currently busy negotiating the formation of a new European Commission.

However, according to the publication, it looks more and more like the EU is doing nothing in the face of the crisis in Ukraine.

• Earlier, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Paolo Gentiloni suggested that the G7 countries could conclude a framework agreement by October 2024 to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan from the proceeds of Russian frozen assets.
• In July, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was optimistic that the terms of a $50 billion loan to Ukraine could be agreed upon by October.