European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Wednesday using profits from frozen Russian assets to finance military equipment for Ukraine.
“It is time to start discussing using windfall profits from frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine,” von der Leyen said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. How to use Russian state assets that were frozen after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine two years ago is the subject of intense discussion, raising thorny legal questions.
The option of confiscating these funds arouses strong reluctance within the 27, but the EU is working on ways to use the income generated by them. “With or without the support of our partners, we cannot let Russia win,” insisted the President of the European Commission, in a reference to a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House, likely to call into question the American engagement in Europe. More broadly, she insisted on the necessary strengthening of European sovereignty which consists of “taking responsibility ourselves for what is vital, even existential, for us”. “The threat of war may not be imminent, but it is not impossible,” she stressed. “The risks should not be exaggerated but we should be prepared for them.”
Investing in the industrial base
“Europe must take charge of its own security, which cannot depend on the results of elections among our allies every four years,” also said the Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, who is due to present a program on Tuesday to strengthen the European defense industry.
The plan will include mechanisms to better coordinate the sector at EU level and invest jointly in the industrial base which must become more powerful in the face of the Russian threat.
“We must change the paradigm and move into war economy mode.
This also means that European defense manufacturers must take more risks” to increase their means of production, “and we will support them to give them more visibility,” explained Thierry Breton. As per sudinfo
Endowed for the moment with only 1.5 billion euros, the package for the defense industry remains significantly underfunded, due to the lack of willingness of many member states, including Germany, to put more money into the common pot.
The authorities of Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist region of Moldova, adopted an official declaration on Wednesday demanding “protection” from Russia. In the middle of an international tour, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets leaders of South-Eastern Europe in Albania on Wednesday to demand their support for his country, which is lacking ammunition, while Russia is gaining ground on the front. The United States on Tuesday ruled out any idea of sending troops to Ukraine. This hypothesis had been mentioned the day before by French President Emmanuel Macron. The Russian army took control of the village of Sieverné, in eastern Ukraine, on Tuesday. Moscow claims several successes in the Donetsk region since mid-February and the capture of the town of Avdiivka. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted on Wednesday on the urgent delivery of arms and ammunition to his country in the face of Russia which is gaining ground on the front, during a summit in Albania of state leaders from south-eastern Europe. “We are experiencing problems with the supply of ammunition, which is affecting the situation on the battlefield,” Volodymyr Zelensky said, addressing these officials at the opening of the meeting.
