European Union envoys have agreed unanimously to set aside billions of euros of windfall profits from Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe.

Ambassadors of the 27 EU countries agreed in principle the first step of a plan to help fund Ukraine reconstruction after Russia’s invasion, according to a source from Belgium. 

The text will undergo legal and language checks before the ambassadors will have the chance formally to adopt it.

The European Commission would then be expected to propose transferring the money set aside to the EU budget and subsequently to Kyiv, though it is unclear when it would arrive in Ukraine. 

France and Germany have already voiced reservations about the plan, while the European Central Bank has warned it could undermine confidence in the euro and unsettle global markets.

The EU, United States, Japan and Canada froze some $300bn of Russian central bank assets in 2022. About $200bn of that is held in Europe, mainly in the Belgian clearing house Euroclear.