On December 12, the European Union (EU) officially activated an emergency mechanism to indefinitely freeze the Russian Central Bank's huge asset worth about 247 billion USD.
Instead of extending the sanctions every 6 months as usual, Brussels decided to "lock" the vault permanently until Russia compensates for the conflict.
Observers in Europe say this sudden decision is not simply an economic sanctions but a high-ranking political flag of the EU to completely address the two biggest concerns today: Internal obstacles and risks from the US.
The direct reason for this decision is to deprive member states with pro-Russian views, typically Hungary and Slovakia. Previously, the regulation of extending sanctions every 6 months created a big " loophole". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico often take advantage of this sensitive time to threaten to use their right to vote, thereby minimizing their own interests for the bloc.
The EU's move also comes amid the emergence of a " peace plan" drafted by US and Russian special missionaries. The plan proposes that the EU freeze frozen assets for the use of Ukraine, Russia and the US together - an idea rejected by Europe.
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico warned that the unilateral use of these assets could undermine US peace efforts. However, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot strongly asserted: "No one will be allowed to decide to replace Europeans in the way this money is used." The move to "lock" assets is seen as the EU's way of preventing the scenario of the US arbitrarily reaching a collusion with Russia on the back of European assets.
This new legal mechanism immediately paved the way for a loan package of about 100 billion USD to provide financial and defense support for Ukraine in the next 2 years (2026 - 2027).
Responding to the shock, Russia immediately filed a lawsuit against Euroclear - the depository in Belgium that holds the majority of the money - in Russian court. This legal retaliation puts Belgium at risk as their about 20 billion USD in counterpart assets could be seized by Russia.
