The EU has invoked an emergency economic procedure to indefinitely freeze an estimated €210 billion in Russian assets held in Europe, most of it at Belgium’s Euroclear. The freeze will remain until Russia ends its war in Ukraine and pays compensation, and is intended to prevent Hungary and Slovakia from using vetoes to block future actions. Leaders will meet on Dec. 18 to discuss using parts of the reserves to back a large loan for Ukraine’s financial and military needs. Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium and Russia have voiced sharp objections and legal concerns.
EU Invokes Emergency Rule To Freeze €210B Of Russian Assets Indefinitely, Sidestepping Hungary And Slovakia
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2025. - Yves Herman/Reuters
The European Union on Friday used an emergency economic procedure to indefinitely immobilize Russian assets held in Europe, a move designed to prevent Moscow-friendly governments in Hungary and Slovakia from blocking the funds' use to support Ukraine.
What the decision does: The measure keeps the assets frozen until Russia ends its war against Ukraine and provides compensation for the extensive damage caused during nearly four years of conflict. Officials estimate the reserves total roughly €210 billion (about $247 billion), with approximately €193 billion held at Euroclear, a Belgian financial clearing house.
Why the EU moved now
The funds were initially frozen under sanctions imposed after Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, but those sanctions require renewal every six months and need unanimous approval by all 27 member states. Hungary and Slovakia had signaled opposition to further measures supporting Ukraine, creating a risk that they could use their veto power to block future renewals or proposals to use the assets.
EU Council President António Costa said leaders had committed in October “to keep Russian assets immobilized until Russia ends its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused. Today we delivered on that commitment.” Costa said the move clears the path for leaders meeting on Dec. 18 to design a mechanism to use part of the reserves as collateral for a large loan to help Ukraine meet financial and military needs over the next two years.
Reactions And Legal Challenges
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sharply criticized the decision, accusing the European Commission of overriding European law and saying the move amounts to the end of the EU’s rule of law. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico wrote to Costa saying he would not back any plan that covers Ukraine’s military expenses and warned the move could jeopardize U.S. peace efforts.
“The European Commission is systematically raping European law. It is doing this in order to continue the war in Ukraine, a war that clearly isn’t winnable,” Orbán wrote on social media.
Belgium, where Euroclear is based, has expressed concern about a proposed “reparations loan” that would use frozen reserves as underwriting, citing consequential economic, financial and legal risks and urging other member states to share liability.
Russia’s central bank said it filed a lawsuit in Moscow against Euroclear seeking damages over the loss of control of the assets and described EU plans to repurpose them as “illegal, contrary to international law,” arguing they violate sovereign immunity principles. Euroclear declined to comment.
Context And Next Steps
A previously reported 28-point plan, reportedly drafted by U.S. and Russian envoys, would have allowed release of frozen assets to Ukraine, Russia and the United States; Kyiv and its European backers rejected that proposal. With Friday’s emergency decision, the EU aims to prevent any unilateral deal that would use the funds without broad European agreement.
EU leaders will meet on Dec. 18 to work out how tens of billions of euros could be deployed — likely by using parts of the reserves as collateral — to provide Ukraine with sustained financial and military backing for 2026–27. The European Commission underlines that the war has already imposed heavy costs on the bloc through higher energy prices and slower growth, and the EU has committed nearly €200 billion in various forms of support to Ukraine so far.
