Alar Karis signed a law allowing frozen Russian assets to be used for Ukraine’s war damage and the country’s reconstruction.
The president approved on Thursday the law despite constitutional concerns raised earlier in the country about state interference with property rights and arguments for vetoing the act.
Although the confiscation of property due to participation in armed aggression raises legally unanswerable questions, parliament must make “political choices” in such a situation, Alar Karis declared.
Regardless of the various opinions on the solution adopted by Estonia, the president continued, it is “necessary to find effective ways for the victims of aggression to have the right to compensation from the perpetrators.”
According to the president, the new law, which was adopted by parliament in mid-May, should be interpreted to mean that expropriation only applies to those who have “actively contributed to the military aggression conducted or violated the rules of warfare.”
The country’s authorities emphasize that in terms of the use of Russian assets located abroad, Estonia is acting as a pioneer, and the rest of Europe can follow the adopted solution.
Most of the frozen Russian state assets, estimated to be worth around €300 billion, are located in Europe. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas expressed the hope that an agreement on the use of these assets would also be reached quickly at the EU level and among the G7 countries.
Although the confiscation of property due to participation in armed aggression raises legally unanswerable questions, parliament must make “political choices” in such a situation, Alar Karis declared.
Regardless of the various opinions on the solution adopted by Estonia, the president continued, it is “necessary to find effective ways for the victims of aggression to have the right to compensation from the perpetrators.”
According to the president, the new law, which was adopted by parliament in mid-May, should be interpreted to mean that expropriation only applies to those who have “actively contributed to the military aggression conducted or violated the rules of warfare.”
The country’s authorities emphasize that in terms of the use of Russian assets located abroad, Estonia is acting as a pioneer, and the rest of Europe can follow the adopted solution.
Most of the frozen Russian state assets, estimated to be worth around €300 billion, are located in Europe. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas expressed the hope that an agreement on the use of these assets would also be reached quickly at the EU level and among the G7 countries.
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