Seven EU countries have spoken out against the confiscation of Russia's frozen assets. The portal writes about this Euractiv. Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia are joined by Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and the Czech Republic. According to them, direct asset confiscation could lead to serious legal consequences and undermine confidence in the EU financial system.
Representatives of these countries are raising alternative EU financing options, including the issuance of common debt obligations. This mechanism would avoid the controversial issue of direct confiscation.
As Euractiv notes, the final decision on asset confiscation will be made this Thursday, December 18, at the summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
Why are these countries participating now and what are the voting prospects? Artem Sokolov, senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies of the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented:
Artem Sokolov, Senior Researcher, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and the Czech Republic have sufficient grounds to oppose Russia's plans to confiscate assets. Each of these countries has established economic and trade relations with Russia, especially active until 2022. This applies to both tourism and other forms of business. Accordingly, it is these countries, along with those who have previously spoken out. oppose the confrontational line with the Russian Federation, now, when discussing assets. And most likely, the discussion taking place on this issue in the very near future will end if there is no positive decision on Russian assets and the search for other sources of finance for Ukraine will continue in a relatively short time, they do not want to create obstacles on this path. Of course, if they support a vote on the confiscation of Russian assets, this will seriously complicate the possibility of resuming comprehensive cooperation in the economic field, especially in the political field.”
Meanwhile, German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz statedthat Russian assets have been frozen in Europe “for a long time” and that Moscow will not be able to access them “in the near future.”
Last week, the European Union decided to freeze Russian assets in Europe indefinitely. This decision is also supported by Belgium. The Euroclear depository is located there, which houses the frozen assets of the Bank of Russia. The decision to permanently freeze Russian assets was made to “prevent Moscow-friendly Hungary and Slovakia from vetoing their use for Ukraine's benefit,” it wrote. Related press.
