Sending frozen Russian assets: Portugal awaits assessment from the European Union

Economy

For Fernando Medina, “appropriate consideration within the European Union is necessary”, as well as “carrying out a careful assessment of this proposal from a legal point of view”.

Portugal’s Finance Minister said this Thursday that there needs to be a careful assessment in the European Union (EU) before commenting on the idea launched by the United States of releasing Russian sovereign assets frozen because of the war in Ukraine.

“I think it is necessary to make a careful assessment of this proposal from a legal point of view, firstly, from the point of view of what it means, its legal framework and, also, from the point of view of what it means from the point of view political vision regarding the evolution of the conflict itself [entre a Rússia e a Ucrânia]”, Medina told Lusa.

And he added:

“Adequate consideration is needed within the European Union, this consideration has not yet been done (…) I believe that at this moment the European Union as a whole will not formally take a position on this and, in this context, firstly , and we will speak out.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen declared last Tuesday public support for the idea of ​​liquidating around 300 billion dollars (277.6 billion euros at current prices) in assets allocated in G7 countries (seven largest economies of the world) frozen from the Russian Central Bank and use them for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine.

“It is necessary and urgent for our coalition to find a way to unlock the value of these fixed assets to support Ukraine’s continued resilience and long-term reconstruction,” Yellen said in remarks in São Paulo, Brazil, at the finance ministers’ summit of the G20.