25 EU countries agreed to become participants in the tribunal for crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine

EU High Representative Kaia Kallas said that 25 of the 27 EU countries had agreed to join a special tribunal to investigate the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine. She also outlined the EU’s arrangements regarding the Russian shadow fleet and frozen Russian assets. Kallas said this during a briefing after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

She stressed that the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin must bear responsibility for the war against Ukraine:

“This brings us one step closer to the start of the tribunal’s work. Of course, we are waiting for all cost estimates, including from the Netherlands, and then we can move forward”.

Kallas also reported that the ministers discussed the European Commission’s proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine in the form of a reparations loan:

“This proposal has received broad support, and it is extremely important that we make progress this week on resolving legal and financial issues. The reparations loan could be a very powerful signal to Moscow that it will not be able to outlive us”.

The European Commission proposes to direct frozen Russian assets to military aid to Ukraine through a €140 billion loan mechanism.

Regarding the Russian shadow fleet, Kallas said that EU countries are considering expanding their powers to inspect such vessels:

“I have also appointed a special coordinating envoy to collect best practices from different EU member states, as well as to respond more promptly to these issues. In order to further reduce Russia’s military spending, we need a more decisive approach to the shadow fleet at the EU level”.

She also stressed that the European Commission is working on the 20th package of sanctions against Russia, and the adoption of the 19th package is expected this week.