Estonian MEP, colleagues: Russia's frozen assets must be handed to Ukraine

TALLINN – Urmas Paet, vice chairman of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, along with his colleagues sent an interpellation to European commissioners to stress the need to hand Russia's frozen assets over to Ukraine.

In the interpellation, the MEPs ask what steps the European Commission has taken to ensure that the frozen assets are indeed transferred to Ukraine.

“There are around 210 billion euros of frozen Russian assets in the EU,” Paet said. “Considering that the United States has suspended a large part of its aid to Ukraine, Europe needs to contribute more, and Russian money should be used for this.”

Paet added that these 210 billion euros would also help improve Ukraine's negotiating position in a situation where the United States and Russia are trying to negotiate over Ukraine.

In their interpellation, the MEPs ask what measures the European Commission intends to take to ensure that frozen Russian assets are used for the benefit of Ukraine. The MEPs also ask what an equivalent alternative could be to help Ukraine if the Commission does not direct the frozen assets to Ukraine.