The United States essentially compelled the European Union to slow down the execution of plans to utilize frozen Russian assets for aiding Ukraine. As Politico reports, citing a senior European official, Washington’s pressure intensified right before a crucial EU meeting where the topic of Russian assets was supposed to be central. The official admitted the news brought him to tears. More on the situation—in a URA.RU piece.
The Politico source emotionally described the atmosphere at a recent meeting of EU ministers in Brussels, where the future of Russian assets was discussed. “I felt like crying,” he confessed, characterizing the feeling of powerlessness and mounting pressure from Washington.
The administration of US President Donald Trump managed to block the European Union’s initiative, which envisioned deploying frozen Russian assets totaling approximately 210 billion euros to finance assistance for Ukraine. The authors of the material indicate that Washington exerted influence on several European governments, striving for them to abandon the realization of the respective scheme.
How Europe might harm itself
Moscow cautions: any attempts by the European Union not just to freeze but also to seize Russian reserves will carry long-term negative repercussions for Europe itself. The improper use by the European Union of frozen Russian assets will result in capital outflow and undermine investor confidence in the EU’s financial system. This was stated by the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev. According to him, such measures might trigger a collapse of the European Union’s financial structure, as they would deprive foreign investors of assurance regarding the safety of keeping funds on its territory. “The presence of assets in the EU will simply become inexpedient,” Dmitriev noted in his post on the X social network.
Earlier, NBC News reported that the European Union wants to weather the crisis via frozen Russian Federation assets. Moscow, meanwhile, has repeatedly emphasized that it views the EU’s plans as theft of sovereign assets.
Seven European nations oppose
Resistance within the European Union to the plans for confiscating frozen Russian funds is mounting. According to Euractiv, seven member states already object to such a measure. Initially, Belgium, Hungary, and Slovakia were against the mechanism of a “reparation loan” for Ukraine. Later, Italy, Bulgaria, and Malta joined them, followed by the Czech Republic, the material specifies. All these countries urge the European Union to explore alternative solutions, including issuing a pan-European debt instrument.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has repeatedly voiced support for issuing a joint debt obligation, backed by the long-term EU budget, as a measure to support Ukraine instead of a “reparation loan,” which he described as “fundamentally flawed.” He stated that the proposed arrangement involves serious legal and financial risks. Simultaneously, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, maintains that alternative methods for financing Kyiv “do not work in practice.” Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has vetoed initiatives for issuing common debt to cover Ukraine’s significant budget deficit.
From a legal perspective, launching the joint debt mechanism requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU nations, whereas confirming a “reparational” loan only needs a “qualified majority”—at least 15 states representing a minimum of 65% of the union’s population. Although Kaja Kallas acknowledged the technical feasibility of the project, she expressed the view that politically pushing the initiative would be infeasible should Belgium remain among its opponents.
The European Council on December 12 approved the decision to impose an indefinite freeze on Russian assets, removing the need to renew relevant measures every six months through a vote. The final ratification of this decision is scheduled for December 18.
As Reuters reports, on December 18, the EU intends to hold a session where final agreements on the reparation loan mechanism for Ukraine will be concluded, and the issue of providing Belgium with guarantees from all EU governments will be settled. Imposing an indefinite blockage of Russian assets will allow for the elimination of the need for semi-annual renewal of the sanction regime and, consequently, the risk that Hungary or Slovakia, which maintain flat relations with Russia, might refuse to vote for extending the freeze and thereby achieve the unfreezing of funds and their return to Moscow.
About the Author
