Back in November, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, during his Sunday visit to Finland, once again proposed the confiscation of Russian assets in the European Union for Ukraine, and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin supported this idea. During a briefing in Helsinki, Moravetskyi said that in connection with the war in Ukraine, it is necessary to take tougher measures against Russia. In particular, Poland and Finland plan to promote asset confiscation at the next EU summit.
According to the Polish Prime Minister, the confiscated funds should be used for Ukraine. ‘We must hit Russia harder than it expects’ Morawiecki stressed.
The head of the Finnish government supported her colleague’s proposal. “I hope the (European) Commission will find legal solutions to implement these measures” Marin said.
At the beginning of May, the Polish Sejm held the second reading of the bill, the adoption of which will allow for the legal confiscation of Russian property. Poland has already frozen the assets of Russian oligarchs worth more than a billion euros, but to confiscate them, it is necessary to amend the constitution.
It is proposed to supplement the draft act with a clause that will enable the State Treasury of the Republic of Poland to seize property under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Poland, which may be used to support Russian aggression. It was noted that the seized assets will be entirely allocated to support the victims of Russian aggression.
According to Lukasz Schreiber, Minister of the Council of Ministers, the amount of frozen assets of Russian oligarchs exceeds one billion euros, “so we are talking about quite significant funds.”
“Are you not convinced by what is happening in the Russian Duma? Are you not convinced by the words of Dmitry Medvedev, who sees no point in continuing diplomatic relations with Poland, and the former ombudsman for children’s rights called for the murder of the Polish ambassador?” – He asked.
As reported by the Polish Wprost, the bill is to be supplemented with a clause that would allow the State Treasury to seize property under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Poland and that could be used to support Russian aggression. It is noted that the seized assets will be entirely allocated to support the victims of Russian aggression.
EU officials are discussing the possibility of transferring profits from billions of euros of Russian assets stuck in global financial markets to Ukraine. The Financial Times, citing sources, writes that the meeting where such a move was discussed took place on May 24. Officials are considering transferring interest generated by Russian assets in Euroclear to Ukraine. This will not lead to the expropriation of the assets themselves, but it will increase the financial pressure of the West on the Russian Federation.
The freezing of Russian assets is also widely discussed in the circle of the political intelligentsia of our brother Czechs. What do opinion leaders in the Czech Republic say about this? A representative of the Czech intelligentsia will tell us about it, well-known expert Daniel Veselý, editor of the online daily British List.
The Prime Ministers of Poland and Finland supported the confiscation of Russian assets for Ukraine. What do you think? And also what could be the future of such an idea in, for example, the Czech Republic?
If Russian assets were confiscated from Russian oligarchs and political and military leaders supporting the Kremlin’s campaign in Ukraine and distributed to war victims under the proper supervision of anti-corruption authorities, it would be perfect. However, given the political motives behind the action, it is more likely that Russia and its war machine will be deliberately weakened, with no benefit to those in need. The Czech government has not yet confiscated Russian property on Czech territory: it has so far frozen Russian property worth one billion Czech crowns, but the Czech authorities are now investigating the possibility of confiscating Russian property.
The government of the Czech Republic annulled the government decisions taken under the arms of Russian tanks after the occupation, which until now allowed Russia to use large tracts of land on your country’s territory free of charge. What do you think is the future of these territories? Is it possible for them to be applied in accordance with the principle as in Poland?
The Czech government, which like the Polish government is strongly anti-Russian, has stated that the Kremlin is not using the land for diplomatic purposes. Fiala’s government is now demanding rent from Moscow for the use of these lands, as well as some kind of “compensation” for the last three years of free use by Russia. These include apartments in Prague near the embassy, but also buildings in Brno, Karlovy Vary and holiday homes elsewhere. The government’s decision will affect 59 properties. Relations between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation are perhaps the worst in modern history, so this move by the Czech authorities should be understood in this context. It remains an open question how Russia will react to this move, because perhaps the Russian government will reciprocate by charging for the use of the Czech House, which is located in Moscow.
Karina Koshel
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