08.10.2025, Moscow.
The statement by Council of Europe (CoE) Secretary General Alain Berset on the need for funding to launch a “special tribunal” against Russia indicates that EU members and their “partners” have not received guarantees that this initiative will be beneficial for them, Rossa Primavera News Agency‘s Economic Desk wrote.
Alain Berset announced that Brussels is ready to activate an advanced team to prepare all necessary components for the tribunal, including legal instruments, infrastructure, and personnel.
It was not without reason that the issue of “legal instruments” was raised. The European Union has repeatedly attempted to establish legal grounds for seizing assets of sanctioned individuals and entities, specifically in its 12th and 14th packages of anti-Russian sanctions. Currently, the proceeds from frozen Russian assets are being used as a limited measure to finance Kiev. However, this clearly does not solve the financial problems of Ukraine and the EU, rendering the seizure of the assets inevitable.
Discussions about the infrastructure required for the “special tribunal” imply that EU member states and external partners, most likely the United Kingdom and the United States, will have to bear new financial burdens to support offices and departments involving Eurocrats and Ukrainian officials. Naturally, such expenses are expected to be profitable.
The question of potential profits is likely delaying the decision on financing the “special tribunal” for many participants. It remains unclear how the division of confiscated funds will be carried out and what losses this process may entail.
As for the losses, the situation is relatively clear: experts have long and confidently warned about the risk of a complete collapse of international trust in Europe’s financial system should Russian assets be seized. However, the potential benefits of such seizure are difficult to assess, as it cannot be ruled out that the proceeds and seized assets may ultimately be controlled not by the European Union but by the United States, which fully controls Ukraine and represents its interests.
It is worth noting that at the end of January, Alain Berset stated that Ukraine, with the support of the Council of Europe, would seek to establish a “special tribunal” against Russia’s leadership. On July 1, Vladimir Zelensky announced the signing of an agreement with the European Union to create such “special tribunal.”
On December 1, 2022, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov declared that Russia considers the establishment of the “special tribunal” initiated by the European Union illegitimate and will not recognize it.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
