Von der Leyen maintains levy on Russian assets

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is pressing ahead with work on a special levy on profits from frozen Russian state assets, despite concerns from ECB President Christine Lagarde and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Von der Leyen said after Friday’s EU summit that the EU and its allies had already taken the most important step more than a year ago when they first blocked more than €200 billion in Russian central bank assets after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Reactions in the financial markets have been very calm, von der Leyen said. That, she said, was „an indication that it is very well understood – the prudent approach we are choosing.“