EU Freezes €208 Billion in State and €37 Billion in Private Russian Assets
The European Union is working on how to utilize frozen Russian assets – €37 billion in private and €208 billion in state-owned – to compensate for the damages inflicted by Russian aggression. European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders stated this during a concluding press conference after the international conference "Restoring Justice for Ukraine" in The Hague, Ukrinform reports.
"We will continue to work on the issue of financing reparations because it is important for Russia to pay for the compensation of damages. And we are working on this in all our discussions regarding Russian assets, whether private or state-owned. In Europe, we have €37 billion in private assets and over €200 – €208 billion in state-owned assets," he said.
Reynders separately expressed hope for the "swift adoption of recent proposals on the use of proceeds from immobilized Russian assets" for Ukraine's needs in its struggle against the Russian aggressor. According to him, these proceeds could amount to around €2-3 billion per year.
The EU Commissioner emphasized that with the launch of submitting claims to the Registry of Losses caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine, "Ukrainian citizens who have suffered human rights violations or become victims of serious violations of international humanitarian law are getting closer to reparations."
"And this registry is the first step because now we need to move towards the Commission for Compensation of Losses, which many participants have expressed support for today," he said.
As Ukrinform reported, at the international conference "Restoring Justice for Ukraine" in The Hague, they announced the launch of submitting claims to the Registry of Losses caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine. The registry is now accepting applications for compensation for damages suffered due to armed aggression by Russia. Currently, it concerns one category of applicants, namely, damage or destruction of residential property. In total, the registry will have over 40 categories. The Registry of Losses caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine is the first component of a global compensation mechanism initiated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in May 2022 together with international partners. The compensation mechanism is expected to include the Registry of Losses and, in the future, a commission for reviewing claims and a corresponding fund.