{"id":1197,"date":"2025-11-27T11:34:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T09:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:11:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T12:11:23","slug":"eu-uses-frozen-russian-assets-as-leverage-and-funding-for-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/eu-uses-frozen-russian-assets-as-leverage-and-funding-for-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Uses Frozen Russian Assets as Leverage and Funding for Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Union considers frozen Russian assets as a bargaining tool and a source of funding for Ukraine. Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho stated this on November 26, 2025, emphasizing the EU’s intention to utilize these funds. Consultations on the matter continue ahead of future peace negotiations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Funding with frozen assets<\/h2>\n

The European Union<\/strong> has not abandoned its plans to use frozen Russian assets<\/strong> for the benefit of Ukraine<\/strong> and regards them as a key factor in potential peace agreements. In a press briefing in Brussels, Paula Pinho<\/strong> said that the process for implementing the so-called \u201creconstruction credit\u201d is ongoing, despite it not being mentioned in the recent statement by the Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen<\/strong>, which addressed the terms for peace in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the spokesperson stressed that the EU\u2019s position includes far more than the three points already made public and encompasses additional elements whose importance will emerge in future negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u20ac170 billion under consideration<\/h2>\n

The Commission is examining the possibility of leveraging approximately \u20ac170 billion in frozen Russian assets held at Euroclear, located in Brussels. Under the proposed plan, around \u20ac140 billion<\/strong> could be channeled to Ukraine through a \u201creconstruction credit\u201d<\/strong>. Essentially, the frozen funds would be used to buy interest-free EU government bonds<\/strong>, with the amount being sent to Kyiv in installments.<\/p>\n

Lithuanian Foreign Minister K\u0119stutis Budrys<\/strong> called on the EU to expedite the procedures concerning the frozen assets, emphasizing that swift decisions are critical to strengthening Europe\u2019s position in future peace talks. \u201cNow is the time for action \u2013 otherwise Europe risks losing its role,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> he stressed.<\/p>\n

Reactions and concerns<\/h2>\n

However, the main obstacle<\/strong> remains Belgium\u2019s position<\/strong>, where Euroclear<\/strong>\u2014the holder of the majority of these frozen assets\u2014is based. Brussels is concerned about potential legal actions from Russia<\/strong> and calls on all EU members to share the risks fairly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pinho reminded that long-term funding options for Ukraine had been assigned by the European Council in October, and relevant work continues ahead of the EU summit in December.<\/p>\n

According to Reuters<\/em> sources, European officials reacted positively to the fact that the latest version of the US peace plan does not include the proposal to redistribute $100 billion from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine\u2019s reconstruction<\/strong>, with the US seeking 50% of the proceeds. European governments maintain that the United States has no authority to manage assets under European jurisdiction<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The EU plans to use frozen Russian assets, worth around \u20ac170 billion, as leverage and funding for Ukraine\u2019s recovery, despite legal and political hurdles, signaling a critical move in upcoming peace talks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":1198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[159,1080,1079,211,473],"nfg_topic":[134],"class_list":["post-1197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-european-union","tag-kenstutis-bundris","tag-paula-pinio","tag-ukraine","tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","nfg_topic-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions\/1199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1197"},{"taxonomy":"nfg_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nfg_topic?post=1197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}