EU leaders plan to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine | DW News

In Brussels, European Union leaders have wrapped up a two-day summit announcing a proposal to impose tariffs on Russian grain. They also agreed to work out a plan to use interest from frozen Russian assets to help Kiev buy more weapons. That despite threats from Russia, which called the move theft and banditry. Coming into this summit, EU leaders had to deliver additional support for Ukraine and more pain for Russia. So for Kiev, they agreed to buy more weapons using interest earned from Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe. But the Kremlin has been sending threats over this decision. The Commission and Council Presidents were asked if they feared Russia's retaliation. We are not intimidated by Russia and that's why we are making decisions to support Ukraine and to counter Russia and to sanction Russia and we think this is fair, that the revenues of those frozen assets will be used for Ukraine, for the Ukraine because they are victim of this role of aggression launched by Russia. We did the move because we are convinced that it's the right way to go. Russia has to pay for what it is doing in Ukraine and it's fully aligned with the development of our G7 partners. To increase pressure on Moscow, the Commission proposed tariffs on its grain. It said Russia exported agri-products worth 1.3 billion euros to the EU last year. That's about 1% of the bloc's market. We do not want Russia to have any kind of revenues from the EU agri-food market, for example the grain market. So putting tariffs on Belarusian and Russian grain is taking away their competitiveness. This move makes clear that we do not want Belarusian grain on the EU market but transit is still possible. But traders say this is mostly symbolic because Russian and Belarusian exports to the EU are low, especially compared to those from Ukraine, which farmers in Europe have been protesting against for months. This is causing tensions and member states France and Poland want the EU to stop allowing Ukrainian grain into the bloc in order to appease angry farmers. Let's get more from our Brussels bureau chief, Alexandra von Naumann. Welcome Alexandra. So tell us more about how leaders are hoping this money will be used. A big chunk of that money is meant to be spent to help Ukraine buy equipment and ammunition and weapons and that is of course what the country urgently needs right now to fend off Russian attacks, to protect its people. It will be about 90% of the amount of 3 billion euros and it sounds like a lot of money but we have to consider that Germany alone, according to the Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has already spent or promised to spend around 28 billion euros and the US was planning to spend 60 billion US dollars on military aid for Ukraine. However, this big package is still being stalled in Congress so you can understand that any amount of money is very important and urgently needed by Ukraine. OK, it's not just money. EU leaders also have Russian grain in their sights. Yes, the European Commission has announced that they will impose tariffs on Russian grain imports to the European Union and they are saying it is important and their goal is to prevent Russia from using these revenues to fund its war on Ukraine. They also want to tackle the issue of Russian imports of exports of stolen Ukrainian grain and they are also saying that they want to prevent a destabilisation of the EU markets because we have to understand that Russia over the last two years has been producing unprecedented amounts of wheat in particular and that has driven core prices down and the European farmers are hurting so that is what is also proposed here in Brussels. And are all member states on board with these moves despite Russia's warning to Brussels not to do this? Well, Russia is of course fuming their warning of catastrophic consequences when it comes to the profits from frozen Russian assets. They are saying that when it comes to the grain issue, European consumers will be suffering but I think most of the leaders are totally unimpressed but there are some leaders, first and foremost of course the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has repeatedly expressed their doubts, who has questioned Ukraine's ability to win this war. In an interview that was conducted here in Brussels during Orban's stay here in Brussels he said that what he is perceiving here in Brussels is a war atmosphere, a war logic and he stressed that this is not Hungary's war. So he has become a big problem for the European Union as a whole and of course for the unity of the bloc. OK, thanks for that Alexandra. Alexandra von Naumann in Brussels.