{"id":71442,"date":"2025-03-26T14:03:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T13:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/?p=71442"},"modified":"2025-04-01T12:58:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T10:58:18","slug":"risks-of-inaction-why-seizing-russian-frozen-assets-is-urgent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/en\/risks-of-inaction-why-seizing-russian-frozen-assets-is-urgent\/","title":{"rendered":"Risks of inaction: Why seizing Russian frozen assets is urgent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bild: Imago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The EU risks losing Russia\u2019s frozen assets as sanctions near expiration. Legal experts confirm trans\u00adferring these funds to Ukraine is lawful and would enforce Russia\u2019s repara\u00adtions oblig\u00adation. Seizing the assets could bolster inter\u00adna\u00adtional law and strengthen Ukraine finan\u00adcially and military. Yulia Ziskina asks if the EU will act before it is too late.<\/span><\/h2>\n

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[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=\u201c\u201d]On May 19, 2023, the G7 agreed in a statement<\/a> that \u201cRussia\u2019s sovereign assets in our juris\u00addic\u00adtions will remain immobi\u00adlized until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.\u201d  Whilst it is unclear whether the US intends to honor that commitment, Russia\u2019s destruction of Ukraine grows daily. The total damage\u2014conservatively estimated in February 2025 by the World Bank at $524 billion<\/a>\u2014already far exceeds the immobi\u00adlized reserves, and will continue to rise.<\/p>\n

Throughout the past several months, more and more voices called for European nations to transfer the immobi\u00adlized assets to a fund for Ukraine<\/a>. This would help meet Ukraine\u2019s urgent human\u00adi\u00adtarian and recon\u00adstruction needs, strengthen its capacity to resist Russian aggression, ease some of the burden on Western taxpayers and help to make Europe more secure and bring at least partial justice to Ukraine. This is vital also for any peace negoti\u00ada\u00adtions as any sustainable peace must have justice and account\u00adability at its core.<\/p>\n

Will Russia\u2019s assets make a difference for Ukraine?<\/h3>\n

Most of Russia\u2019s $300 billion sits in accounts with Belgium\u2019s securities depos\u00aditory Euroclear and corre\u00adspondent banks. However, different countries have claims to this money. Seven percent of this sum is denom\u00adi\u00adnated in U.S. dollars and, hence, falls under U.S. juris\u00addiction. Eight percent of the total is in Canadian dollars, 16 percent in British pounds, and 2 percent in Australian dollars. Europe\u2019s share is the remaining 65 percent denom\u00adi\u00adnated in Euros.<\/p>\n

To put this sum in perspective, total global aid packages for Ukraine in the first two years of the full-scale war amounted to about $380 billion<\/a>. The American share amounts to about $110 billion. European Union insti\u00adtu\u00adtions have provided about $91 billion in direct assis\u00adtance, with Germany footing about $24 billion of its own as the second-largest individual contributor to Ukraine overall.<\/p>\n

In short, $300 billion in frozen Russian assets has signif\u00adicant game-changing potential for Ukraine. This comes at a time when the U.S. has cut off its support to Ukraine, leaving the respon\u00adsi\u00adbility on Europe to protect Ukraine, and itself.<\/p>\n

Why haven\u2019t western leaders just seized these assets?<\/h3>\n

The political and strategic case for seizing Russian state assets is clear. Doing so would throw Ukraine an invaluable lifeline and increase the likelihood of its victory. It would also shield Ukraine from any decisions of the U.S. that undercut its ability to defend itself from Russian aggression.<\/p>\n

Most impor\u00adtantly, it would set up a new strategic deterrent. Other countries thinking of invading their neighbors would have to reckon with their assets being seized if they did so. The world\u2019s author\u00adi\u00adtarians would get a loud message: \u201cIf you attack your neighbor, you will pay.\u201d Making aggression more expensive ultimately makes it less likely.<\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas<\/a>, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakha<\/a>, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk<\/a>, and other current and former officials have publicly voiced their support. Meanwhile, France, Germany and other eurozone countries<\/a>, including Belgium<\/a> where Euroclear is based, remain opposed to seizing all $300 billion in Russian state assets. The reasons for their opposition are largely political, yet they employ both legal and economic arguments to justify their opposition.<\/p>\n

Is seizing Russian assets legal?<\/h3>\n

Yes. Leading inter\u00adna\u00adtional lawyers have confirmed that trans\u00adferring Russian assets to a fund for Ukraine would be lawful, including in an EU-commis\u00adsioned study<\/a> by Professor Philippa Webb and a memorandum<\/a> co-signed by 11 of the world\u2019s top inter\u00adna\u00adtional lawyers, such as a member of the UN\u2019s Inter\u00adna\u00adtional Law Commission.<\/p>\n

The basic principle is that a country only benefits from non-inter\u00adference with its property rights when it abides by inter\u00adna\u00adtional law. Practi\u00adcally every inter\u00adna\u00adtional body acknowl\u00adedges that Russia has violated the funda\u00admental corner\u00adstone of inter\u00adna\u00adtional law by waging an unpro\u00advoked war of aggression against Ukraine. An aggressive and genocidal repeat offender cannot and should not enjoy the same non-inter\u00adference benefits as other law-abiding countries. It\u2019s also not disputed that under inter\u00adna\u00adtional law, Russia owes repara\u00adtions for the damages it caused.<\/p>\n

When a country\u2019s misconduct is so egregious that it violates the very core norms of inter\u00adna\u00adtional law, it\u2019s considered to affect the entire global community. Effec\u00adtively, any country has now the right, arguably even the duty, to take counter\u00admea\u00adsures to bring the recal\u00adci\u00adtrant country back into compliance with the inter\u00adna\u00adtional norms it is violating. By trans\u00adferring assets to an inter\u00adna\u00adtional compen\u00adsation fund, partic\u00adi\u00adpating countries would cause Russia to comply with its oblig\u00adation to make repara\u00adtions to Ukraine.<\/p>\n

What about Russia\u2019s sovereign immunity that allegedly supposed to protect the country\u2019s assets? Sovereign immunity is a concept that prevents the national courts of one country from sitting in judgment of the govern\u00admental acts of another country, or from executing upon the other country\u2019s assets. Without court action, state immunity does not come into play. The counter\u00admea\u00adsures would be adopted and imple\u00admented strictly by the executive branch of government, by legis\u00adlation, or by cabinet decisions in parlia\u00admentary systems. They would be acts of state which are not ordinarily regarded as justiciable.<\/p>\n

Despite this, some govern\u00adments \u2013 for instance, that of Germany \u2013 have pleaded legal uncer\u00adtainty<\/a> as an excuse for inaction. In reality, such a transfer would not only strengthen inter\u00adna\u00adtional law by enforcing Russia\u2019s oblig\u00adation to pay repara\u00adtions, but also alleviate the financial burdens of Ukraine\u2019s reconstruction.<\/p>\n

What must happen now?<\/h3>\n

Any need for analysis has largely been met. Any claim that further answers must be sought should be seen for what it is: stalling, and simple political cowardice. At the very least, Europe must forestall the return \u201cby default\u201d of the assets to Russia in case politi\u00adcians fail to decide anything. In the EU, that means these countries must act to maintain their national sanctions over the Russian state\u2019s cash held via Euroclear, independent of the EU sanctions regime, in the event that it lapses.<\/p>\n

The best way forward is to work with urgency on the transfer of Russian state assets to a compen\u00adsation fund for Ukraine \u2013 the only foolproof way to secure them against a return to Russia. This will ensure repara\u00adtions to Ukraine and contribute to the costs of recon\u00adstruction that otherwise the EU will likely have to bear. The time has come to make political choices \u2014 before it is too late.<\/p>\n

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