UK and EU discuss confiscating Russia’s frozen assets

According to Bloomberg, officials from the UK and the European Union (EU) are exploring legal and financial avenues to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets, following its military intervention in Ukraine.

This topic is on the agenda for today’s meeting in London between UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas.

Sources speaking to Bloomberg noted that preparations for the potential confiscation of Russian assets are ongoing, despite opposition from some European countries, including Germany and Belgium.

These countries believe that seizing Russian assets could violate international law norms and affect the euro exchange rate.

The assets of the Central Bank of Russia held abroad were frozen after the start of the war, totaling over 260 billion euros.

A significant portion of the frozen assets is held in the Euroclear depository in Belgium.

The confiscation of Russia’s frozen assets has been discussed repeatedly for over three years since the start of the war.

However, so far, only the use of income from interest on these assets has been decided, and this income is being directed to support Ukraine.

EU officials have stated that there is no legal basis for the direct confiscation of the assets.