Austria will support the use of the ‘body’ of Russian assets, but does not want to be the first to take the initiative

The new Austrian Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer has supported the idea of using the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank to help Ukraine, calling it ‘reasonable’, but stressed that Austria would not initiate such a step. According to him, the country will join the decision if it is a collective one at the EU level. The statement came after a meeting of EU finance ministers in Warsaw, where Spain proposed the creation of an EU defence fund, partially financed by Russian assets, to support Ukraine and strengthen Europe's defence capabilities.

Austria, like Spain, is facing difficulties in increasing defence spending. Marterbauer is tasked with raising the defence budget from 1% to 2% of GDP by 2032, while at the same time respecting fiscal austerity and the country's neutral status enshrined in the Constitution.

Source: Liga.net