Overview
- EU ambassadors approved a revised Article 122 measure and launched a written procedure for formal sign‑off, enabling the Commission by qualified majority to maintain the freeze without six‑monthly unanimous renewals.
- The mechanism covers roughly €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets, largely held at Belgium‑based Euroclear, and is intended to keep them blocked until Russia ends its war and pays reparations to Ukraine.
- Russia’s central bank filed a lawsuit in Moscow against Euroclear and declared the EU plans illegal, foreshadowing broader legal challenges and potential retaliation.
- Belgium continues to object to a reparations‑style loan over liability risks, with EU capitals working on binding guarantees ahead of the Dec. 18–19 leaders’ summit; diplomatic sources say Germany is preparing €50 billion in guarantees.
- Hungary and Slovakia oppose the move, and Viktor Orbán denounced the decision, but the shift to qualified‑majority voting removes their ability to veto future renewals of the asset freeze.