European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the controversial decision to permanently freeze Russian sovereign assets, a move she called a “strong signal” to Moscow. Moscow describes this action as theft that violates national law. Meanwhile, the measure has also revealed deep divisions in the EU itself and has been the subject of criticism from several states.
“We welcome the Council’s decision [Europeo] on our proposal to continue the freeze on Russian sovereign assets,” Von der Leyen wrote in X. “We are sending a strong signal to Russia that as long as this brutal war of aggression continues, Russia’s costs will continue to rise.”
He added that the message is equally powerful for Ukraine: “We want to ensure that our brave neighbor becomes even stronger on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”
EU blocks Russian assets indefinitely
The European Union made the decision this Friday to indefinitely block Russian assets that are frozen in Europe “until Russia ends its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused,” reported the president of the European Council, António Costa. According to Costa, the organization’s next step will be to “guarantee Ukraine’s financial needs for 2026-2027.”
As of February 2022, several Western countries (the US, EU nations and the UK, among others) have frozen more than $300 billion in Russian state assets.
In September, the European Commission proposed granting Ukraine a “reparation loan” of 140 billion euros ($162 billion) financed with frozen Russian assets.
Last week, the European Commission presented two multi-year financing schemes for Ukraine: issuance of debt on the markets guaranteed by the European Union budget and a “reparations loan” backed by Russian sovereign assets frozen on EU territory.
Belgium has reiterated its rejection of the initiative, arguing that the country could end up being legally persecuted by Moscow.
Russia warns of consequences of the “theft” of its assets
Russia has warned on several occasions that the freezing of its funds violates international law and has called the European Union initiative “theft.” President Vladimir Putin announced that his country is preparing countermeasures.
“The Russian Government, following my instructions, is developing a package of retaliatory measures in case this happens,” the president declared at the end of November, emphasizing that “everyone clearly states, bluntly, that it would be theft of someone else’s property.” With RT
#Von #der #Leyen #welcomes #decision #indefinitely #freeze #Russian #assets