4 EU countries push to tap 210 billion euros in frozen Russian assets
What's next: EU foreign ministers are set to revisit the issue Sept. 1-2 in Ireland, though Belgium still opposes the plan.
The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden moved to reopen an EU fight over whether to use frozen Russian state assets to help fund Ukraine, arguing Kyiv will need more support than the bloc has already pledged. In a letter seen by Reuters, the four countries asked EU officials to put the issue on the agenda for foreign ministers meeting Sept. 1-2 in Ireland and to study new legal options for using the funds. EU countries immobilized about 210 billion euros of Russian central bank assets after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with roughly 185 billion euros held at Brussels-based Euroclear. A previous plan was dropped after Belgium objected over legal and financial risks.