MEPs call to seize Russia’s hundreds of billions in frozen assets

Lawmakers want to see more support for Ukraine as US and UK counterparts advance.

Transcript

00:00 With Russia's bombardment of Ukraine intensifying in recent months, calls for Russian state

00:07 assets to fund Kiev's defence efforts are growing.

00:11 MEPs made the call during the final European Parliament session ahead of the June elections.

00:17 They say Russia needs to pay.

00:20 Not often are the moral, legal, political and economic arguments for action as strong

00:27 as in the case for confiscating Russia's state assets to help Ukraine.

00:32 Europe needs to seize all of Russia's underlying assets and it must do so now.

00:38 EU countries have been discussing a 3 billion euro aid package for Ukraine using the interest

00:44 from capital held within the bloc by the Russian Central Bank.

00:48 Some MEPs say the EU needs to do more in line with other allies.

00:54 By the time being we are not going to take, to seize the capital because there's not enough

00:59 clarity about what we can do and what we cannot do.

01:04 Certainly we would be very happy if we could take 300,000 million euros.

01:12 Borel says the bloc should be able to profit from Russia's holdings so Ukraine can defend

01:18 itself rather than using seized assets only to fund reconstruction.

01:23 And he says the decisions must be lawful.

01:26 [SWOOSH]