President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has completely shifted America’s stance on support for Ukraine, prompting European nations to consider new options to bolster military support for Kyiv. One of the mechanisms Europe has at its disposal to make up the shortfall of American backing for Ukraine is to fully seize frozen Russian assets held in the region. At the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the end of February, Kallas stated that work on reaching an asset seizure agreement was “ongoing.”
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In theory, all 27 EU member states could unanimously agree to seize Russian assets and “mandate Belgium to confiscate the assets,” Armin Steinbach, a Jean Monnet professor of EU law and economics at HEC Paris told CNBC.
The other option would be for Belgium to separately pursue asset confiscation if the EU sanctions expire without renewal, Steinbach said. However, Belgium seems unlikely to do so, as it has reportedly warned of the legal and economic risks that asset seizure poses to the euro zone.
Steinbach also commented that it would be “morally compelling but legally difficult” for Europe to seize Russian assets, as Europe is limited to taking countermeasures against Russia’s international law violations, which need to be “temporary” and “reversible,” according to international law.
Yet “at the same time, Ukraine has a damage claim against Russia to pay for the injuries of the war. The question is whether the EU could enforce this damage claim for Ukraine by confiscating Russian assets,” the professor said.
He referred to a “creative proposal” in which Ukraine transfers its “damage claim against Russia to the G7″ who would then enforce this claim for Kyiv by “setting off” against Russian assets. Steinbach noted that “such a transfer has never happened under international law before” and that the issue of immunity protection for sovereign assets also persists.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/06/how-europe-could-seize-frozen-russian-assets-to-fund-ukraine.html
