Overview
- The Council of the EU has barred any transfers of immobilised Central Bank of Russia assets back to Moscow and set conditions tying their release to an end to the war and compensation for Ukraine.
- The European Commission’s plan under discussion would provide Ukraine with about €90 billion over two years as a reparations loan backed by the frozen reserves, with repayment by Kyiv only if Russia pays damages.
- Russia’s central bank has filed a claim in Moscow’s Arbitration Court seeking 18.2 trillion rubles (about $229 billion) from Euroclear, which holds roughly €185 billion of the immobilised assets.
- Belgium, home to Euroclear, is pressing for robust liability shields as litigation risks mount, and Italy has voiced concerns over outright confiscation despite a proposed three‑tier legal defense from the Commission.
- Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has denounced the freeze as tantamount to a declaration of war, Russia has warned of retaliatory steps, and EU talks have grown “increasingly difficult” ahead of leaders’ Dec. 18–19 summit.