The European Commission (EC) needs to work with the United Nations in order to find a legal way to confiscate the frozen assets owned by the Russian state and oligarchs to divert them towards the restoration of Ukraine, says Latvian MEP Ivars Ijabs.
In November EC proposed confiscating the assets that were frozen in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This gesture was meant to help compensate losses to Ukraine.
Reserves of the Russian Central Bank worth 300 billion are currently blocked in the European Union. Europe has also frozen EUR 18 billion of Russian oligarchs’ money.
The MEP representing the liberal Renew Europe Group, stressed that confiscation of assets requires a legal method. Ijabs said the damages and crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, which still continue, are a sufficient reason to confiscate these billions. However, the procedure needs to be properly legally composed.
«We shouldn’t entertain hopes that this money will be enough to restore Ukraine. It is about nearly EUR 600 billion worth of losses. This amount is still on a rise. When Ukraine wins, we will need to find other means of helping this country recover,» the politician said.
Ijabs stressed that Ukraine needs military aid and arms to win, but the legal regulations for the confiscation of Russian assets needs to be developed soon in order for it to be useable when the time comes.
When asked why the current military aid amount if not enough to Ukraine to win, Ijabs stressed there are objective and subjective reasons. In regards to objective reasons, the politician said
over the past thirty years Europe has been generally pacifistic, which means ammunition reserves are limited.
This is the reason why rapid steps are needed in order to restore the military industry in Europe and Latvia. «We need to restore reserves of arms we have supplied to Ukraine. We have to be prepared for any escalations that may be planned by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. He made it clear multiple times that the objective is not limited to only Ukraine,» said Ijabs.
He reported that the European Parliament is already hard at work on a new legislative draft on military procurements next year – Europe needs to procure many goods in a joint manner, which is something the union has never attempted until now. «With military procurements we can improve efficiency and secure unified standards. This is vitally important for countries like Poland, Romania and Baltic States, because they have provided Ukraine with a considerable portion of their reserves,» explained the MEP.
As for the subjective reasons, Ijabs said the majority of western European politicians have concerns the war could start within Russia’s territory. Considering that the Ukrainian army is doing comparatively well, such a possibility remains.
This, according to the politician, is the reason why there is hesitation in regards to supplies of longer range missiles to Ukraine, which would allow reaching not only occupied territories but also perform attacks on Russia’s territories. Ijabs said Latvia’s position should be focused on providing assistance to Ukraine using all possible means.
On he 24th of February 2022 Russian forces commenced an invasion of Ukraine. Western countries imposed enormous sanctions against Russia for this action.
Also read: War in Ukraine: Moscow demands concessions to its requirements