The EU has found a legal opportunity to permanently block Russian assets
7 December 2025 21:15
The frozen Russian assets may be blocked forever, as European officials have found a clause in their legal framework that allows such decisions to be made without the unanimity of member states. This was reported by the Financial Times newspaper, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The publication says that until recently, any country could single-handedly “destroy the entire structure” of European sanctions and provide Russia with access to its reserves, as sanctions had to be unanimously extended every six months.
“The new legislative package will allow the EU to leave frozen Russian assets blocked forever,” the publication says.
According to the newspaper, European officials found an article in the EU treaties that states that in “conditions of serious economic turmoil, the EU is allowed to take measures without unanimity.”
It is worth noting that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz failed to reach a common opinion on the seizure of Russian assets at a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Weever.
Most of Russia’s frozen assets are under European jurisdiction. The largest amount of €191 billion is blocked on the international platform Euroclear in Belgium.
