Asked about the pushback by some EU countries against the European Commission's proposals to map Russian assets, he says: "I guess the reasons are more political than technical.
I don’t understand why there are some governments and countries in Europe that are still sceptical. I hope that in the very near future we can at least get data from each member state on what kind of Russian assets have been frozen." Asked how the frozen assets might be used, Paet says: "I really urge politicians in member states and also officials in the EU Commission to work very hard to lay down a legal framework.
The damage in Ukraine is more than €7 billion. I can't imagine that Russia will get all its frozen money back, and that EU taxpayers end up having to pay for rebuilding Ukraine while the aggressor country does nothing." On the broader issue of accountability, Paet states: "I don't see an alternative to a special tribunal.
We have to start building an international coalition. More than 50,000 war crimes have been registered already. Normal countries cannot just let this go.