EU leaders fail to agree on handing over Russian assets to Ukraine

COPENHAGEN - European Union (EU) leaders at an informal summit in Copenhagen failed to make progress in talks on using EUR 140 billion worth of Russian assets frozen in Europe to provide support to Ukraine, the Financial Times reports.

Belgium demanded that the risks be shared among all EU member states and that legal protection be provided in case of Moscow's claims. France and Luxembourg also expressed concern about the legal consequences.

The other leaders broadly agreed with the principle of using the funds, but tasked the European Commission (EC) with working out the legal and financial details of the plan. According to the Financial Times, since preparing such a plan is a time-consuming task, the proposal is unlikely to be ready for the next summit, scheduled to take place in Brussels in three weeks' time.

Latvia was represented at the summit by Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity). Asked why no agreement could be reached on the use of the frozen assets for assistance to Ukraine, the prime minister's representatives said that, in Silina's view, some progress had been achieved.

"Yesterday was the first time that EU leaders discussed this European Commission proposal on the use of the Russian Central Bank's frozen assets to support Ukraine. Until now, only the profits generated by the frozen funds have been used, so the proposal to use the frozen funds themselves in this innovative way is something new. Our discussions have led to some progress - an increased awareness among EU member states that Russia's frozen funds can be used in a way that is both legally and macro-economically sound," the prime minister said.

Silina noted that member states still had questions and uncertainties about the idea, but that work would continue.

"Latvia has always supported the use of the frozen funds from the Central Bank of Russia to support Ukraine. We will follow up to make sure that the discussions do not stop at what has been achieved so far and that this initiative moves towards a result that would ensure more support for Ukraine," said Silina, adding that the next European Council meeting in three weeks' time will discuss this issue in more depth.