EU decides to indefinitely freeze Russian assets

On Friday, the European Union agreed to indefinitely freeze Russian central bank assets held in Europe, removing a major obstacle to using these funds to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.

Details

The EU wants Ukraine to remain funded and able to fight, as it views Russia's invasion as a threat to its own security. To this end, EU states are seeking to tap into some of the Russian sovereign assets they blocked after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The first major step, which EU governments agreed to on Friday, is to block 210 billion euros ($246 billion) worth of Russian sovereign assets for the necessary period, instead of voting every six months to extend the asset freeze.

This removes the risk that Hungary and Slovakia, which have better relations with Moscow than other EU states, could refuse to extend the freeze at some point, forcing the EU to return the money to Russia, Reuters adds.

Addendum

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the decision to "immobilize Russian sovereign assets."

I welcome the Council's decision on our proposal to continue the immobilization of Russian sovereign assets. We are sending a clear signal to Russia that as long as this brutal war of aggression continues, Russia's costs will continue to rise.

In addition, according to her, this is a powerful signal for Ukraine.

We want to make sure that our brave neighbor becomes even stronger on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.

Euroclear may compensate for the seizure of its assets in Russia at the expense of frozen Russian funds in the EU12.12.25, 17:27 • 2422 views