2025-12-12 20:03
publication
2025-12-12 20:03
Member states decided on Friday to permanently freeze Russian assets deposited in the EU, the Danish presidency announced. Only two countries were against the regulation banning the transfer of these funds back to Russia.
Earlier, Hungary and Slovakia announced their opposition. Belgium, which has so far been opposed to the use of Russian assets, announced on Friday that it had voted in favor of banning the transfer of funds back to Russia.
Until now, Russian assets have been frozen under sanctions that require six-month extension by all member states. Introducing the ban permanently introduces great certainty regarding the future of these deposits – they can be unfreezed after the regulation is amended. This will be possible – as stated in the statement – only after Russia ends the war and compensates for the losses it has caused to Ukraine.
The countries' consent to the permanent freezing of Russian assets does not determine whether a reparations loan will be granted to Ukraine, financed with their use. However, the decision is seen as a significant breakthrough, bringing the Community closer to this.
– At the October summit, EU leaders pledged to immobilize Russian assets until Russia ends its aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused. Today we have fulfilled this commitment, announced the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, on Friday after the formal procedure. He added that the next step will be to secure Ukraine's financial needs for 2026-2027.
Costa will host an EU summit next week where leaders are expected to make a final decision on whether to finance aid to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets. The President of the European Council announced that the summit will last until the member states reach an agreement.
The decision to freeze them permanently was also welcomed by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who proposed at the beginning of December to freeze the assets permanently and use them to finance support for Ukraine. – We are sending Russia a clear signal that as long as this brutal, aggressive war continues, the costs incurred by Russia will continue to rise – she emphasized on the X platform.
– This is a strong message for Ukraine. We want to make sure that our brave neighbor will become even stronger on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, added the head of the European Commission.
The regulation was adopted pursuant to Art. 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which allows for the provision of financial assistance in emergency situations. It was used, among others, during the COVID-19 pandemic to respond to the economic challenges related to the lockdown. It allows for a simpler legislative path. The EC argued that it was also necessary in the case of Russian assets, because their transfer back to Russia would hit the EU economy.
Most of the 185 billion euros of Russian deposits that were immobilized after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 are held by the Belgian clearing house Euroclear. The EC wants this money to be transferred to the EU in the form of a 0% loan, and the EU will then use it to finance a reparations loan for Ukraine. Ukraine will have to return the money when Russia pays it reparations. There is EUR 25 billion in EU countries other than Belgium.
Russia's central bank said on Friday it had sued Euroclear in a court in Moscow. If he wins, the funds that Euroclear has collected in Russia, amounting to EUR 17 billion, are expected to be seized.
Finance Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis commented on the Russian lawsuit on Friday. He called Russia's allegations baseless and speculative.
From Brussels Magdalena Cedro (PAP)
mce/ mal/
