He added that without such grounds, the use of funds would be a political “gift for Russian leader Vladimir Putin”. Recall, Russian assets were frozen in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The vast majority of countries do not support the use of confiscated Russian goods, because, as the European Central Bank announced, there is no legal basis to be able to use them,” said Antonio Tajani, quoted by the Ansa agency.
“It is a choice that from a political point of view makes sense, but threatens that it would become a boomerang for us, because if there is no legal basis and decisions against the law, then a gift is made to Vladimir Putin,” said Minister Tajani.
In his opinion, “new sanctions for Russia are needed to force Putin into the room.”
Most of the Russian assets for the amount of over 200 billion euros are stored by the Belgian EUROCLEAR settlement chamber. Belgium expressed readiness to unlock some of these funds, but stated that she was expecting real support from EU partners in the event of any lawsuit filed by Russia. Recently, Poland has announced that it is prepared to support Belgium if it is to the laws of Russia related to the freezing of assets.
Look: Radosław Sikorski declares help. Poland is ready to support Belgium
