EU abandons idea to confiscate Russian billion – media
20 March 22:53
The European Union will not confiscate frozen assets of the Russian Federation – several countries have opposed this. This was reported by Deutsche Welle with reference to the text of the conclusions of the EU summit of March 20, Komersant ukrainskyi reports
The document shows that the EU has stopped discussing the confiscation of frozen Russian assets.
“According to EU law, Russian assets should remain frozen until Russia ends its aggressive war against Ukraine and compensates Ukraine for the damage caused by this war,” the text adopted by EU leaders reads.
Several EU countries opposed the confiscation of more than 200 billion euros of Russian assets, arguing that it was based on EU law:
- eU legislation,
- the danger of such a precedent for European competitiveness in the financial services market,
- the need to support Ukraine with interest on these funds,
- assets are a “card” in peace negotiations and an important influence on Russia.
The document states that the EU is ready to further increase pressure on Russia by imposing additional sanctions and strengthening control over compliance with existing restrictions.
What is known about the frozen assets of the Russian Federation?
In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU froze Russian assets in Europe. According to media reports, these are assets worth about $300 billion.
The profits from these assets were decided to be used to help Ukraine. Thus, the leaders of the Group of Seven agreed on a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, which will be repaid from these profits.
In February 2024, the EU Council decided that central securities depositories that hold assets and reserves of the Central Bank of Russia worth more than one million euros that were frozen by sanctions must set aside emergency cash balances and cannot dispose of subsequent net income.
In May, the EU Council adopted a number of legal acts that allow these net revenues to be used in favor of Ukraine. Thus, at the end of 2024, Ukraine received $1 billion from the United States from frozen Russian assets.
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EU sanctions against Russia
The European Union has already imposed 14 sanctions packages against Russia in response to its aggression against Ukraine. The sanctions cover a wide range of measures aimed at weakening the Russian economy and limiting Russia’s ability to wage war.
Key sanctions include freezing the assets of Russian officials, including President Putin, restricting Russia’s access to EU financial markets, a ban on imports of Russian energy (coal, oil), and restrictions on exports of dual-use technologies and goods that could contribute to Russia’s military capabilities.
The EU also imposed sanctions against Russian banks, excluding some of them from the SWIFT system, banned Russian ships and trucks from accessing EU ports and territory, and restricted the activities of Russian media in the Union. In addition, restrictions were imposed on investments in the Russian energy sector and a ban on the export of luxury goods to Russia.
The sanctions also target individuals and organizations involved in the aggression against Ukraine, including politicians, military, businessmen and propagandists. The EU regularly expands its sanctions lists, adding new names and tightening existing restrictions.
The latest sanctions packages are aimed at combating sanctions circumvention, strengthening export and import controls, and restricting Russia’s access to technologies and goods that could be used for military purposes. the 14th package of sanctions for the first time affected Russian gas, but did not hit it. The 14th package also imposed sanctions on Russia’s SWIFT analog.
