War in Ukraine: “Confiscation of Russian public property will advance reparations”

NoWe welcome the initiative of the European Council, which agreed to tax the interest earned by Russian state capital immobilized in various European countries. This tax, 90% of which will be allocated to the purchase of arms for Ukraine, is the first step. But this decision looks very timid when we compare the billion euros promised to the Ukrainians with the 200 billion euros of assets that the Russian central bank deposited with European financial institutions (out of the 300 billion euros located outside of Russia). .

Ukraine will immediately use this capital to begin repairing the damage caused by the destruction of its civilian infrastructure, which has been systematically targeted by Russian missiles. The reconstruction of hospitals, schools, universities and power plants cannot wait for the indefinite end of hostilities.

How can Ukraine’s finances, whose income has been reduced by a reduction in economic activity, ensure the payment of pensions for war invalids, widows and orphans? How can we finance the long and expensive care of the countless injured? How can we invest in rebuilding hundreds of thousands of destroyed homes? How to continue the school and university training of the generation that will have to rebuild Ukraine after the war?

The confiscation of Russian public assets will be an advance on the reparations it must pay. Aggressor in the end. The damage inflicted by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine is estimated by the World Bank at 450 billion euros. This is already much more than the frozen Russian assets.

While Emmanuel Macron called for an a priori restriction on the actions of Ukraine’s allies, why not implement reparations, confiscation measures that are legitimate under customary international law? The document is called State responsibility for international wrongful acts Created by the International Law Commission of the United Nations (UN): A state that has suffered damage by another state can take retaliatory measures, such as confiscation of the aggressor’s assets, to force it to repair the damage. He caused It is the same customary law which is the source of law provided for in the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and which it can apply in disputes between States.