European Parliament mulls seizure of Russian assets to help Ukraine
The total amount of frozen money is more than the entire aid provided to Ukraine by the EU over the three- year war. But taking it is not without risk.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/12/european-parliament-mulls-seizure-of-russian-assets-to-help-ukraine
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The total amount of frozen money is more than the entire aid provided to Ukraine by the EU over the three- year war. But taking it is not without risk.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/12/european-parliament-mulls-seizure-of-russian-assets-to-help-ukraine
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:00This building in the heart of Brussels is at the center of intense political discussions
00:09within the European Union. Euroclear is believed to hold 258 billion euros in frozen Russian
00:17assets. The 27 are divided over whether this money should be confiscated to support Ukraine.
00:29This divide is reflected in the European Parliament, which debated the issue on Wednesday.
00:35Some member countries, such as France and Belgium, believe that seizing these assets
00:39would be illegal and are urging caution.
00:43This is the reason why the different governments, which are particularly involved together with
00:49the European Central Bank and other institutions, are working to verify what are the legal and
00:56financial possibilities. It's clear that if there were no risk on the market and no
01:01risk from the legal certainty to confiscate the Russian funds, we would push to confiscate
01:07them immediately.
01:10For the time being, the EU has already seized the interest on these assets, valued at three
01:15billion euros per year. Others point out that confiscating Russian assets could also threaten
01:22the confidence of foreign investors in the single currency.
01:27The Baltic states, Poland and other countries close to the Russian border that wish the
01:32money to be seized reject this argument.
01:37Any decision needs to be anchored in international law. So as long as international law is abided
01:43in the confiscation, it is possible to do it. It's a separate thing. Euro stability
01:50and the Euro market is very reliable for anyone to invest into.
01:55The capitals that are defending prudence believe that these Russian funds could also enable
02:00the Union to invite itself to the table of any peace negotiations. What's more, these
02:06assets could be used as a bargaining chip.