Kalniete: Profits from Russian frozen assets will be redirected to Ukraine

The European Parliament today voted convincingly in favour by 518 votes in favour of a new €35 billion macro-financial assistance loan to Ukraine. The proposal was prepared by the European Commission and put to the vote in Parliament by the International Trade Committee, MEP where Sandra Kalniete is a shadow rapporteur on Ukraine for the EPP group.

Today's vote on the financial allocation for Ukraine is crucial, but Europe must do more: Member State leaders must confiscate Russia's frozen assets and use them to arm and rebuild Ukraine

"By voting in favour of this European Commission proposal, we are supporting Ukraine's recovery and the reconstruction of its devastated infrastructure. Russia's use of frozen assets to rebuild Ukraine sends the right message to Putin: Russia must be held accountable and made to pay directly for its aggression and crimes against Ukraine. Today's vote on the financial allocation for Ukraine is crucial, but Europe must do more: Member State leaders must confiscate Russia's frozen assets and use them to arm and rebuild Ukraine. Putin must face the consequences of his actions." MEP Sandra Kalniete stressed in the European Parliament debate.

The macro-financial assistance loan, which received the support of the European Parliament today, is the European Union's contribution to the G7 initiative approved earlier this year to provide Ukraine with up to USD 50 billion (around 45 billion euros). Repayment of the loan will be secured by extraordinary profits from the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia.

Russia continues its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, destroying the country's energy infrastructure and taking innocent lives with missiles and drones on a daily basis. Ukraine needs our unwavering support, both financial and military

Addressing the European Parliament, Sandra Kalniete stressed that this financial support is essential to meet Ukraine's urgent budgetary needs, including the repayment of the EU's emergency macro-financial loan as well as the G7 bilateral loans. "Russia continues its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, destroying the country's energy infrastructure and taking innocent lives with missiles and drones on a daily basis. Ukraine needs our unwavering support, both financial and military: the Ukrainians are facing a third winter of war, the most difficult yet, as Russia has destroyed more than half of the country's energy resources," the MEP said in the debate.

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Sandra Kalniete, a member of the New Unity party, continues to serve on the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on International Trade and the Committee on Culture and Education. Sandra Kalniete is the head of the Latvian delegation in the European People's Party (EPP) group, the largest in the European Parliament since 1999. The centre-right group retained its leading position in the 2024 elections, with 188 MEPs from all EU Member States.

Within the EPP Group, Sandra Kalniete is Deputy Head of the Foreign Policy Working Group and works on issues on the agenda of the International Trade Committee, including dossiers on EU financial and economic assistance to Ukraine. Sandra Kalniete also serves on the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee, and continues to work on the European Parliament's history group.