Last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed setting up a special structure to manage the frozen private and Russian Central Bank assets to “support Ukraine.” Moscow has repeatedly warned that attempts to confiscate frozen Russian assets are an expropriation of property in violation of international law.
The 2.3 billion euro reduction of the European Union budget for next year proposed by the representatives of the member states was rejected, yesterday, by the members of the Budget Committee of the European Parliament, according to Euractiv.
Divisions are brewing among EU member states as the bloc s leadership seeks a total of €86 billion ($93.2 billion) in additional funding, including financial support for Ukraine and salary increases for EU bureaucrats.