The EU will discuss the fate of Russia's assets. In which countries are they frozen?

European leaders will discuss a "reparations loan" for Ukraine and the possible seizure of Russian assets at a summit in Brussels on December 18. Politico reported that disagreements among European leaders over the confiscation issue remain unresolved, with countries divided.

According to the publication, Belgium, Italy , Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Malta oppose issuing a loan using Russia's frozen assets. Germany , along with Northern and Eastern European countries, support the "reparations loan" scheme, while Brussels and Rome propose financing Ukraine with EU budget guarantees. Russian authorities consider any scheme to use frozen assets to be theft and have warned of legal consequences.

The day before, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that the issue of providing financing to Kyiv using Russian funds "would not be discussed" at the summit, but there was no official confirmation of this. On December 18, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that a decision on the fate of Russian assets must be made by the end of the day. "We must find a solution today. We will not leave the European Council without finding a solution on financing Ukraine for the next two years," she said.

The total volume of frozen Russian sovereign assets, i.e. national reserves managed by the Bank of RUSSIA until 2022, at the start of the military operation amounted to approximately $300 billion (these figures do not include frozen assets of individuals). The exact amount of funds and their distribution among Western countries remains unclear. There are presumably at least ten countries whose banks and other financial institutions hold frozen Russian reserves: Belgium, France , Luxembourg, Switzerland , the United Kingdom , the United States , CANADA , Japan , Germany, and Australia ; according toREUTERS reports that such assets may also be held in Sweden and Cyprus. For some countries, such as Canada, only a probable value is known, based on expert estimates.

On December 3, the European Commission approved two financing options for Ukraine, one of which involves using frozen Russian Central Bank reserves in the EU and prohibiting any transfer of these funds back to Russia. According to Politico, under this project, Ukraine will receive €165 billion (approximately $192.5 billion), of which €140 billion will be taken from the Belgian depository Euroclear, and the remaining €25 billion from frozen accounts in private banks in the bloc. Under the second financing option, funds for the loan will be borrowed from the so-called "reserve fund" of the EU budget.

On December 12, the EU Council agreed to an indefinite freeze on Russian assets. This freeze amounts to €210 billion, rather than requiring a six-monthly vote on renewal. Although the EU stated that the freezing order "under no circumstances prejudges decisions on the possible use of immobilized Russian assets," it was a measure aimed at reassuring Belgium. The Belgian depository Euroclear holds the bulk of the frozen Russian reserves, and the country had previously opposed the withdrawal of the funds.

The Bank of Russia stated that the mechanisms for using Russian funds are "illegal, contrary to international law, and violate the principles of sovereign immunity of assets." The Central Bank promised to challenge the seizure of the funds "in all available competent authorities." The first lawsuit filed by the Bank of Russia against the Belgian depository Euroclear was filed in the Moscow Arbitration COURT . According to RBC sources, the total amount of the claims amounts to almost 18.2 trillion rubles, or approximately €196 billion.