The Ukrainian army complains of a lack of ammunition and air defenses (European)
The Spanish newspaper El Pais said that the head of European Union foreign policy affairs, Josep Borrell, is in the process of completing a plan to use the interests of Russian financial reserves frozen in the EU countries, to finance Ukraine with weapons and ammunition, and not only to help in its reconstruction.
In a report by its correspondent in Brussels, Maria Sauquillo, the newspaper discussed a plan that is about to be presented to the 27 members of the Union, to use millions of dollars from the interests of frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine.
However, the newspaper - which was informed by European sources of some details of the plan - described it as legally complex, even in its part related to using the benefits exclusively for reconstruction, as evidenced by the delay in approving this part despite it having been put up for discussion since last December.
The exact interest on the frozen Russian funds, which have been accumulating in a separate account since February 12, is not known exactly, but last year they amounted to about $4.8 billion.
Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using revenues from Russian assets to finance joint purchases of ammunition to be supplied to Kiev, but her proposal includes transferring the benefits directly to the European Union budget, which is more complicated.
El Pais says that the proposal was put forward as part of a broader strategy to enhance defense spending in the European Union, and requires transferring these funds, or part of them, to the European Peace Fund to be allocated to arming Ukraine or developing its military industrial base.
The frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank are estimated at $290 billion, according to the European Commission, nearly two-thirds of which are in European Union countries, especially Belgium, but the discussion regarding the use of their proceeds is slow.
The newspaper reported that although progress has been achieved in this direction between the European Union and the G7, some EU countries fear that the plan will harm the investment climate within the bloc, not to mention the legal complexities of the proposal.
El Pais wrote that the proposal reflects the seriousness of the situation on the Ukrainian fronts, where voices calling for the use of Russian funds are rising as soon as possible.
Trump and other factors
The plan comes at a time when Ukraine is suffering from a severe shortage of ammunition, and the European Union is witnessing a shift in its defense policy, not to mention fears of the return of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States, who is known for his opposition to the current US President Joe Biden’s pro-Kiev policy.
European Commission leaders are discussing a new defense strategy that will revitalize European military spending.
The plan includes encouraging the joint purchase of weapons and ammunition between member states, so that European purchases reach 35% by 2035, in addition to a proposal to amend the lending policy of the European Investment Bank so that it is allowed to finance companies that manufacture weapons and ammunition.
Although defense spending by European Union countries rose for the eighth consecutive year in 2022, reaching $260 billion, 80% of European defense purchases from the beginning of the Ukraine war until last June were from companies outside the Union.
Source: Spanish press