DISINFO: The EU has immobilised Russian assets driven by anti-Russian sentiment
SUMMARY
The EU froze Russian assets in euros without legal justification, because they hate Russians and everything Russian. This raises concerns that Brussels could target others in the same way in the future.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation aiming to deter nations from seizing Russia's frozen assets to fund Ukraine's reconstruction. Narratives such as these attempt also to decrease global trust in Western financial institutions as safe harbours for money. This is also a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that the international sanctions against Russia are inefficient.
Following the launch of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Council has adopted several packages of sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The measures are designed to weaken Russia's economic base, depriving it of critical technologies and markets and significantly curtailing its ability to wage war. As part of these sanctions, the assets of the Central Bank of Russia held in the EU were immobilised. The prohibition on transactions related to the assets and reserves of the Central Bank of Russia and its affiliated entities leads to extraordinary and unusual accumulation of cash and deposits on the balance sheets of central securities depositories (CSDs) from maturing financial instruments and generates extraordinary revenue.
The extraordinary revenues generated in this context by the EU operators do not belong to Russia and are held by CSDs. The EU has started to channel these revenues to Ukraine. Following the proposals by the Commission and the High Representative in March, on 21 May 2024 the Council adopted a set of legal acts enabling the use of these net profits for the benefit of Ukraine. The EU has now started to channel these revenues to Ukraine.
On July 26, 2024 the EU made available in support of Ukraine the first payment of €1.5 billion generated from immobilised Russian assets. These extraordinary revenues generated by EU operators and held by central securities depositories (CSDs) from immobilised Russian sovereign assets were made available by Euroclear to the Commission as a first instalment on 23 July. The money will now be channelled through the European Peace Facility and to the Ukraine Facility to support Ukraine's military capabilities as well as to support the country's reconstruction.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission:
The EU stands with Ukraine. Today we transfer €1.5 billion in proceeds from immobilised Russian assets to the defence and reconstruction of Ukraine. There is no better symbol or use for the Kremlin’s money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live.
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