EU Pressure Over Frozen Russian Assets Transfer to Ukraine: Key Positions and Future Prospects
In December 2025, a pivotal European Union summit is expected to take place, during which a final decision will be made regarding the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that this decision is crucial for supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
According to Tusk, internal debates within the EU are still ongoing, with Belgium’s stance being the main obstacle due to its substantial holdings of Russian assets, including the Central Bank’s funds stored in local banks.
Brussels insists on establishing clear legal grounds for such a move, as there are no precedents for confiscating such assets.
Belgium fears bearing the full responsibility for the confiscation process.
Tusk emphasized that the EU is working on a mechanism of collective responsibility and called to move from declarations to concrete actions to ensure Ukraine’s financial stability.
He pointed out that the December summit is a deadline for member states to decide whether to support this initiative.
Without stable funding, Ukraine will not be able to sustain itself in the ongoing war nor effectively resist Russian aggression.
Despite ongoing negotiations among the EU, Belgium, and Luxembourg, progress is evident.
Tusk highlighted the urgency of making quick decisions and urged the development of a legal framework that allows using these assets to support Ukraine, stressing that without this, the country will lack effective defense capabilities.
Previously, the European Commission was urged to prepare legal proposals for such a mechanism, but now the summit’s text has become less specific — nations only call on the Commission to quickly present funding options.
The issue of creating a reparations loan using frozen Russian assets was previously discussed in Oleg Sarkits’ article ‘Reparations Credit: EU Turns Frozen Russian Assets into a Weapon for Ukraine,’ which explained the core principles of this mechanism.