The European Union is moving toward a plan to indefinitely immobilize roughly 210 billion euros in Russian central bank assets held within its jurisdiction, eliminating a major obstacle to a proposed financial support package for Ukraine.
Under existing EU rules, sanctions on Russian sovereign assets must be renewed every six months, leaving them vulnerable to objections from individual member states. By shifting to a permanent freeze approved through qualified majority voting, EU officials aim to prevent any single country from blocking the measure in the future. This change reduces the risk of opposition from governments such as Hungary and Slovakia, which have maintained more favorable relations with Moscow.
A central purpose of the initiative is to secure Belgium’s approval for a mechanism that would use the frozen assets as collateral for a long term loan to Ukraine. The loan, potentially reaching 165 billion euros, would support Ukraine’s military needs and government budget through 2027. Ukraine would begin repayment only after Russia provides compensation for war damage, effectively treating the loan as an advance on expected reparations.
EU leaders are expected to finalize the proposal at a summit on December 18. Discussions include providing Belgium with legal assurances to shield it from liability if Russia pursues international litigation to challenge the use of its assets. Germany has expressed strong backing for the plan and is prepared to supply about 50 billion euros in guarantees to support the reparations based loan.
The initiative has drawn criticism from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who argues that the move undermines the EU’s legal order and has vowed to push for what he calls a return to proper legal norms.
Russia has also condemned the plan. The Russian central bank has described the EU’s approach as illegal and has filed a lawsuit in a Moscow court against Euroclear, the Brussels based financial depository that holds the majority of the frozen assets. Russian officials have warned of legal retaliation across multiple jurisdictions and have threatened countermeasures should the EU proceed.
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