The commission's officials plan to put forward a "legally robust proposal" for consideration by the member states, possibly before a meeting of prime ministers on March 21, the outlet said.
"In the case of the practical implementation of such plans by Bern, retaliatory measures by the Russian side will be inevitable," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its official Telegram channel.
Ukraine may receive up to 3 billion euros in funds from the profits of frozen Russian central bank assets as early as July, the Financial Times reported on March 12, citing unnamed officials.
The Swiss government estimated in December 2023 that it had frozen $8.8 billion in Russian state assets as part of its sanctions against Russia.
The assets will be used as a surety for the payment of the reparations, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said.
Dmitry Kiselyov was sanctioned and his property and assets were blocked by Ukraine in January 2023 when President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose personal sanctions on 119 individuals.
Ukraine is compiling a list of sites that Russia has destroyed to specifically allocate funds from frozen Russian assets, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a press conference on March 4,
Any plan to seize or monetize frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine can not be considered a substitute for emergency Ukraine aid that has been stalled in Congress, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview, as reported by Bloomberg on March 1.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged members of the European Parliament "to start a conversation about using the windfall profits of frozen Russian assets to jointly purchase military equipment for Ukraine."
“It is necessary and urgent for our coalition to find a way to unlock the value of these immobilized assets to support Ukraine’s continued resistance and long-term reconstruction,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
The enforcement actions coincide with the U.S. announcing new sanctions against Russia on the eve of the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A letter signed by international legal experts argues that the seizure of frozen Russian central bank assets to aid Ukraine would be lawful given Russia's "ongoing breach of the most fundamental rules of international law," Bloomberg reported on Feb. 21.
The transfer marks the second time the U.S. has sent confiscated Russian money to Ukraine, and the first time such funds have been sent to a foreign ally with the intent of providing aid to Ukraine.
Already this year, Ukraine could receive $4 billion from Russian assets frozen by the EU and the Group of Seven (G7) countries, Deputy Justice Minister Iryna Mudra told Forbes Ukraine in an interview published on Feb. 14.
The European Council said on Feb. 12 that central securities depositaries (CSDs) holding more than 1 million euros ($1.07 million) in assets from the Russian Central Bank must separate any profits generated from the primary accounts.
As Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to wreak havoc both regionally and globally, the Ukrainian people and their allies demonstrate remarkable determination and courage. But nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, it is increasingly clear that the international community can and must do much more to
Ukraine may have gotten one step closer to gaining access to frozen Russian assets to put toward its massive reconstruction needs. European Union leaders on Oct. 27 expressed support for a proposal to use billions of euros in windfall taxes from Russian assets tied up in the West to rebuild
