Ukraine - how is Belgium allowed to get away with this?
timothyash.substack.com
So the EU bureaucracy seems to be blocking the use of the $330 billion in immobilised Russian central bank assets in Western jurisdictions. They seem to have come up with a smoke and mirrors approach, which involves only the use the profits on the interest earned on these assets. I think this is just a PR stunt to deflect from the fact that the underlying assets are being ring-fenced - Europe seems to prefer to spend Western tax payers/creditors/pensioners money funding the annual $100bn cost of the war in Ukraine, rather than do what is morally and politically/strategically right in allocating the underlying assets - and making the Russian tax payer pay. Actually the legal arguments against are weak, and outweighed by the moral/strategic priority - If Ukraine is not allocated these assets it is underfunded in the war, and loses the war, at a huge cost to Ukrainians and actually Europe. Our European leaders don't seem to do longer term national security strategy, and have constantly mis-calculated on Russia policy. They are doing so again.
Ukraine - how is Belgium allowed to get away with this?
Ukraine - how is Belgium allowed to get away…
Ukraine - how is Belgium allowed to get away with this?
So the EU bureaucracy seems to be blocking the use of the $330 billion in immobilised Russian central bank assets in Western jurisdictions. They seem to have come up with a smoke and mirrors approach, which involves only the use the profits on the interest earned on these assets. I think this is just a PR stunt to deflect from the fact that the underlying assets are being ring-fenced - Europe seems to prefer to spend Western tax payers/creditors/pensioners money funding the annual $100bn cost of the war in Ukraine, rather than do what is morally and politically/strategically right in allocating the underlying assets - and making the Russian tax payer pay. Actually the legal arguments against are weak, and outweighed by the moral/strategic priority - If Ukraine is not allocated these assets it is underfunded in the war, and loses the war, at a huge cost to Ukrainians and actually Europe. Our European leaders don't seem to do longer term national security strategy, and have constantly mis-calculated on Russia policy. They are doing so again.