29.09.2025, Moscow.
The EU understands that seizing frozen Russian assets will undermine the European legal and financial system; however, it may still take this step, Rossa Primavera News Agency‘s Economic Desk wrote .
The issue of seizing frozen Russian assets remains on the agenda in the EU. As of today, Europe takes interest from them, but has not dared to proceed with outright seizure, and this hesitation is understandable. Such a move would carry devastating consequences. As Aleksey Chepa, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, noted on September 25, “They want to steal, but they’re afraid of consequences, and the consequences could be very serious.”
What are these consequences? At the legal level, it would constitute a violation of the principle of sovereign immunity. The property of a foreign state is traditionally protected from confiscation by the courts of another state, and the direct seizure of assets without a ruling from an international court would be a breach of international law. Russia, as well as private asset holders, could file a huge number of lawsuits. Legal proceedings would drag on for years.
No less dangerous for European countries is the creation of a precedent: if they can confiscate Russian assets, why shouldn’t other countries (such as China or Saudi Arabia) do the same with the assets of Western companies or states for certain political reasons?
Equally important are the economic and financial consequences. The seizure of frozen Russian assets would undermine global trust in the European financial system, including the euro, and overall decrease Europe’s investment appeal. At the same time, Western businessmen might fear that Russia, in response, would nationalize the remaining assets of Western companies.
Overall, the seizure of assets would cast doubt on the stability of the entire financial and legal system of the European Union, and several European leaders understand this. As French President Emmanuel Macron said on September 21 in an interview with CBS News, confiscating Russian assets would unleash “total chaos.”
However, the United States might find it beneficial to weaken Europe and deprive it of its status as a financial center. On September 12, Bloomberg wrote that the USA has proposed to G7 countries the creation of a legal “mechanism of seizure” for frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s defense.
Europe, not without pressure from Washington, may decide to take this step despite the devastating consequences for itself. Relevant statements are already being made. In particular, Michael Clauss, adviser for European affairs to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said in written remarks to Politico on September 25, “We are open to look at new, legally sound options on the table to make use of the Russian frozen assets.”
Realizing that the West continues to “go beyond the bounds,” assuming the right to freeze and in the future seize the assets of foreign states, the world is taking countermeasures. Thus, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit held from August 31 to September 1, it was decided to create its own depository instead of the European Euroclear and Clearstream, i.e. the SCO Development Bank. If this project is successfully implemented, a real alternative to Western depository and payment systems will emerge.
After the start of Russia’s special military operation, the European Union and the G7 countries froze about €300 billion of Russia’s foreign currency reserves. Of this, over €200 billion are located in the EU, mainly in the accounts of the Belgian operator Euroclear. As reported by Welt am Sonntag, between January and July 2025, Kiev received €10.1 billion in income from these assets.
