Europe should fund Ukraine's restoration through duties on Russian imports – Estonian PM

Europe should impose duties on Russian goods and direct the proceeds toward Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal has said, Politico reports.

Michal emphasized that the scale of destruction to Ukrainian infrastructure requires hundreds of billions of euros. "We need to tariff the goods from Russia to pay off the damages. This has been the talk in different kinds of corridors [and] different meetings, that different kinds of tariffs on Russian goods could fund the reconstruction of Ukraine," Michal said in an interview on the sidelines of the EU leaders’ summit in Cyprus.

He said that while some EU countries called for tariffs on Russian products like steel and fertilizers in November, the initiative was not included in the latest EU sanctions package.

Michal also stated that the roughly EUR 210 billion in frozen Russian assets held in Brussels is insufficient. He cited a study by the Ukrainian government, the UN, the European Commission, and the World Bank that estimated the 10-year cost of reconstruction at EUR 500 billion, noting that 13% of Ukraine’s housing stock was destroyed in the first three years of the conflict.

"They should be held responsible. Because if they are not held responsible, then this will repeat," the Estonian prime minister said.