EU indefinitely freezes 210 billion euros of Russian assets

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the EU Council's decision on the European Commission's proposal to extend the freezing of Russian assets.

We are sending a clear message to Russia: as long as this brutal war of aggression continues, Russia's costs will only increase. This is a powerful signal to Ukraine: we want to make sure that our brave neighbor becomes even stronger on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.

Ursula von der Leyen

President of the European Commission

At the same time, Reuters clarifies that the governments of the European Union countries have agreed to freeze Russian assets "for as long as necessary", instead of voting every six months to extend the asset freeze.

This decision eliminates the risk that Hungary and Slovakia, which maintain "warm" relations with Russia, could block the continuation of the freezing of Russian assets and, thus, the money would return to the aggressor.

Also, an indefinite asset freeze could convince Belgium to support the EU's plan to use these funds to provide Ukraine with a "reparation loan" of up to €165 billion to cover its military and civilian budget needs in 2026 and 2027.

The European Council is expected to meet on December 18 to finalize the details of the "reparations loan" and resolve remaining issues, including guarantees from all EU governments to Belgium that it will not be left alone to pay the bills if Moscow's potential lawsuit is successful.

European Council President Antonio Costa confirmed that Russian assets will be frozen until the end of Russia's war against Ukraine.

In October, EU leaders committed to keeping Russian assets frozen until Russia ends its aggressive war against Ukraine and compensates for the damage it has caused. Today, we have fulfilled that commitment.

He added that the next step is to ensure Ukraine's financial needs for 2026-2027.