France against using frozen Russian assets to finance Europe’s defence capacity-building
Paris, March 4 (IANS) French Finance Minister Eric Lombard told France Info radio Tuesday that France is against using frozen Russian assets to finance Europe’s defence capacity-building.
When asked if France still opposes using frozen Russian assets to finance Europe’s defence investment and aid to Ukraine, Lombard said that France believes these assets “belong mainly to Russia’s central bank.”
According to him, Europe is not “in war” with Russia, seizing frozen Russian assets as a contribution “would be contrary to the international agreements that France and Europe signed.”
On Monday, during a debate at the French National Assembly, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also affirmed that the French government didn’t consider seizing frozen Russian assets a good idea, as it would pose “great financial risk” to European countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed on Sunday that the European Union (EU) member states should raise their defence spending to 3 to 3.5 per cent of the EU’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Speaking to the French daily Le Figaro after participating in a defence summit in London, Macron said on Sunday that European Union (EU) member states should invest “heavily” in European defence to prepare for America’s eventual disengagement and to ensure Europe’s security.
The French President suggested raising considerable amounts together through joint loans or even the European Stability Mechanism. “We probably need initially 200 billion euros (208 billion US dollars) to kick off,” he added, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled an 800-billion-euro (844.6-billion-US dollars) plan to significantly increase defence spending across the bloc.
She said that in response to escalating security threats across the European Union (EU), Europe had entered “an era of rearmament.”
In a letter written to EU leaders ahead of Thursday’s European Council, von der Leyen unveiled the “ReArm Europe” plan and emphasised the urgency of strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities, citing mounting geopolitical tensions, particularly in light of Russia-Ukraine military conflict and concerns over the future of US support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending. Both to respond to the short-term urgency to act and to support Ukraine but also to address the long-term need to take on much more responsibility for our own European security,” she said.
“The question is no longer whether Europe’s security is threatened in a very real way,” von der Leyen said. “The real question in front of us is whether Europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates.”
–IANS
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