Big EU States Cautious on Tapping Profits From Russian Assets
- France, Germany, Belgium still cautious in closed-door meeting
- Commission is pushing for a proposal by the end of the year
The EU has been debating over the past months how swiftly to pursue plans to apply a windfall tax on the profits generated by frozen Russian assets.
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Member states including France, Germany, Italy and Belgium are cautious about speeding up efforts to use profits from sanctioned Russian central bank assets to support Ukraine even as the European Union’s executive arm is pushing to finalize a proposal by the end of the year.
Key EU countries told the European Commission during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday that they would favor a more gradual approach, according to people familiar with the matter.