EU foreign ministers approved 1.4 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine, with the package to be financed for the first time by proceeds from frozen Russian Central Bank assets.
Each EU member state has a veto on EPF payments and Hungary has been blocking some disbursements related to Ukraine for nearly a year.EU diplomats were not expecting a breakthrough on the EPF deadlock with Hungary. A legal analysis noted that as Hungary abstained on the decision to use the frozen assets for Ukraine, and that the new aid is derived from the Russian Central Bank assets and not EU funds.Just in: Abiodun emerges Chairman, Southern Governors Forum, Soludo viceHungary opposed military aid for Ukraine fearing an escalation of the conflict with Russia and expresses doubts about Western support for Ukraine, preferring instead to call for a ceasefire.
Under the agreement, Germany and the Czech Republic have been selected as the first to use the proceeds to provide Ukraine with air defence equipment and artillery shells, EU diplomats said.According to the European Commission, around 210 billion euros worth of Russian Central Bank assets are frozen in the EU.
The new salvo of sanctions target Russia’s multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas sector for the first time.