The European Commission (EC) should work with the UN to find a legal way to confiscate the frozen assets of the Russian state and oligarchs in order to direct them to rebuild Ukraine, Latvian MEP Ivars Ijabs said, Baltic News reports. Networks, quoted by Rador.

In November, the European Commission proposed confiscating assets that were frozen in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This gesture was supposed to help compensate for the losses suffered by Ukraine.

“Reserves of the Russian Central Bank worth 300 billion are currently blocked in the European Union. Europe also froze 18 billion euros of Russian oligarchs’ money.” The MEP, who represents the liberal group Renew Europe, stressed that a legal way is needed to confiscate assets. Ijabs said that the damage and crimes that Russia is inflicting on Ukraine is reason enough to confiscate those billions.

However, the procedure must be legislated and correctly formulated. “We should not hope that this money will be enough to restore Ukraine. We are talking about losses in the amount of almost 600 billion euros. This amount is growing. When Ukraine wins, we will have to look for other means to help this country recover,” the politician said.

Ijabs emphasized that Ukraine needs military aid and weapons to win, but legal rules for confiscating Russian assets must be developed soon so they can be used when the time comes.

When asked why the current military aid is needed, if it is not enough for the victory of Ukraine, Ijabs noted that there are objective and subjective reasons. As for the objective reasons, the politician noted: “Over the past thirty years, Europe has generally been pacifist, which means that ammunition stocks are limited.” Therefore, urgent measures are needed to restore the military industry in Europe and Latvia.

“We need to restore the stockpile of weapons that we provided to Ukraine. We must be prepared for any escalation that may be planned [președintele rus Vladimir] A little bit He stated several times that his goal is not limited to Ukraine,” Ijabs said.

He stated that the European Parliament is already intensively working on a new legislative project on military procurement for next year – Europe should purchase many goods in a common way, which the Union has never tried before.

“With military procurement, we can improve efficiency and ensure uniform standards. This is vital for countries such as Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, as they provided Ukraine with a significant part of their reserves,” the MEP explained. As for the subjective reasons, Ijabs noted that most Western European politicians are concerned that the war may start on Russian soil.

Considering the fact that the Ukrainian military is doing well, there is such a possibility. That is why, according to the politician, there are hesitations regarding the delivery of long-range missiles to Ukraine, which would allow not only to reach the occupied territories, but also to attack the territories of Russia.

Ijabs noted that Latvia’s position should be focused on providing assistance to Ukraine by all possible means.

On February 24, 2022, Russian troops began an invasion of Ukraine. Western countries imposed huge sanctions on Russia for this action.