Sunday

10th Dec 2023

EU aims to seize Russian assets amid legal unclarity

  • Ursula von de Leyen was present at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland (Photo: European Parliament)
Listen to article

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday (24 May) the EU could support a push to confiscate Russian central bank assets to help rebuild Ukraine post-war.

"We should leave no stone unturned, including, if possible, Russian assets," she said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday — with a commission representative saying a proposal to this effect may come as early as Wednesday.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia wrote a joint paper to the commission this week, urging the use frozen Russian assets for such reconstruction, which, according to Ukrainian estimates, already amounts to €560bn.

"A substantial part of the cost of rebuilding Ukraine….must be covered by Russia," the EU member states wrote, noting western countries have frozen €300bn in Russian central bank assets. "We must now identify legal ways to maximise the use of these resources as a source of funding."

But some member states, including Germany, the Netherlands, Greece and Belgium, are reluctant to embrace seizing frozen assets without clarity on its legality.

So far, the EU has not made a clear proposal that would allow it to seize and repurpose Russian central bank assets.

EU commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday the 'freeze and seize taskforce' — which was set up in April to coordinate the seizure of €30bn worth of frozen assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, with US partners — will now investigate if "there is an EU basis for confiscation [of central bank assets] within international criminal law."

Legality

At the G7 meeting in Bonn last week on Wednesday, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said seizing Russian central bank assets "was not legal in the US right now."

But this could quickly change.

In a commentary this month, international law expert Paul Stephan wrote that seizing central bank assets would "manifestly violate international law," but concluded a "constitutionally-sound law", supported by the US Congress and the president could release the US from its international obligations, opening up the possibility for seizure.

Some other countries have already pushed to change national law to allow for the seizure of Russian assets.

In April, Canada started drafting a law that would allow it to repurpose Russian assets to support Ukrainian victims.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday also signed a sanctions law enabling government officials to seize blacklisted Russian-owned assets and property and sell them in order to support Ukraine's war efforts.

The new sanction will be in effect for as long as Ukraine operates under martial law, which the government recently extended through late August.

Russian people's money?

A move to seize Russian central bank assets is not without critics, however.

Senior fellows at the influential Brussels based think tank Bruegel, Nicolas Véron and Joshua Kirschenbaum, in a blog published last week, criticised the proposed seizure of Russian central bank assets, calling it "seductive" but also "unnecessary and unwise."

"Neither the US nor the EU are financially constrained to the extent that they would need to appropriate the Bank of Russia's money to do what they have to do," they wrote.

"Russian reserves are public money," they concluded, which was, in principle, acquired on "behalf of the Russian people [and] cannot be generally assumed to have been illegitimate."

Russia loses seat on board of chemical weapons watchdog

Russia lost its seat on the board of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for the first time in the organisation's history — while Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania were elected to the executive council.

Analysis

How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis

Moldova, Europe's poorest country, is working hard to combat tuberculosis. The country wants to be tuberculosis-free by 2030, at the same time as joining the EU. That's quite a challenge.

Latest News

  1. How Moldova is trying to control tuberculosis
  2. Many problems to solve in Dubai — honesty about them is good
  3. Sudanese fleeing violence find no haven in Egypt or EU
  4. How should EU reform the humanitarian aid system?
  5. EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example
  6. EU ministers prepare for all-night fiscal debate
  7. Spain's Nadia Calviño backed to be EIB's first female chief
  8. Is there hope for the EU and eurozone?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us