Photo: Euroclear / Google Maps

The European Union is considering transferring nearly 200 billion euros in frozen Russian assets held at the Belgian financial institution Euroclear to a riskier investment fund with higher interest rates, Politico reports, citing informed sources.

This idea originated in the EU with the aim of generating more revenue to help the Ukrainian economy stay afloat amid threats from US President Donald Trump to cut off funding.

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The plan does not include confiscating Russian assets, as some member states, including Germany and Italy, oppose this due to legal risks. Instead, the EU wants to use only the interest on the money.

Thus, the creation of a special investment fund under the auspices of the EU is currently being considered.

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This will allow Russian assets to be invested in more profitable (but also riskier) instruments than the current deposits in Euroclear, which yield the lowest returns.

Another potential advantage of such a fund is that this mechanism could help circumvent a possible Hungarian veto.

Russian assets are frozen under an EU sanctions regime that is renewed every six months and requires unanimous support. Hungary has repeatedly threatened to block it.

Therefore, the European Commission is currently discussing the possibility of adopting a decision to create the fund by majority vote, rather than unanimously.