Despicable failure: the EU could not agree on the confiscation of Russian assets 

The historic EU summit ended in failure: it was not possible to coordinate the expropriation of Russian assets. Instead, Brussels will provide Kiev with an interest-free loan of €90 billion from its own funds. The Western press writes about the political collapse of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had previously insisted on using Russian assets. Experts believe that the split in the EU over Russia will intensify. Against this background, French President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly declared that it was "useful to talk to Moscow again." About how the EU summit was held in Brussels and who prevented the confiscation of Russian assets — in the Izvestia article.

EU failed to confiscate Russian assets

The EU Summit, which is a completely routine meeting of the union's leaders, has suddenly acquired almost historical significance. The main issue facing European leaders was the financing of Ukraine. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, emphatically stated that "no one will leave the summit until a decision is made."

"We will discuss two options — financing Ukraine from the EU budget, under which a pan—European loan will be used, or a "reparation" loan based on Russian assets," she said.

However, there was a feeling that opponents of Kiev's sponsorship simply did not want to be allowed to attend the meeting. For example, the plane of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was allegedly accidentally damaged by a car with a ramp after landing in Brussels. Moreover, now Slovak aircraft No. 1 will have to be left for repair in Belgium.

Nervousness has also increased due to the delay in the summit. The European quarter was suddenly flooded with thousands of tractors driven by angry farmers. It turned out that they were not interested in Ukraine, unlike the free trade agreement with MERCOSUR. Agricultural producers are afraid that cheap products from South America will flood into the European market, and local farmers will lose profits.

However, European politicians were not puzzling over the problems of farmers. On the eve of the EU summit, a real front was formed — Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Malta called on the EC not to withdraw Russia's frozen assets, which are stored in Euroclear. Previously, only Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia opposed such a scheme, but now the number of opponents has grown to seven. And other countries, such as Austria, began cautiously saying that they "understand Belgium's concerns."

Recall that the European Commission proposed using Russian assets blocked in the Euroclear system to issue a loan to Ukraine. The Russian authorities have clearly stated that they will consider such actions theft. As a response, European assets in Russia may already be confiscated. On December 12, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation sued Euroclear, suing for 18 trillion rubles. According to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, it was the threat of losing their own money that forced European countries to abandon the seizure of Russian assets.

The discussions lasted 16 hours and were obviously very intense. The speech of Vladimir Zelensky, who specially arrived at this summit to "look directly into the eyes of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever," did not help either. It was only early in the morning that Ursula von der Leyen went to the press and announced that it had not been possible to coordinate the confiscation of Russian assets. Instead, it was decided to finance Ukraine for the next two years in the amount of €90 billion with a pan-European loan at 0% from the EU budget. Thus, the European Union avoided "chaos and division," said Bart De Wever. But the European Commission does not intend to give up.

— Russia's assets must remain frozen. The EU reserves the right to use them. The summit instructed the European Commission to continue exploring this possibility," von der Leyen explained.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz explained that Ukraine will have to repay this loan only after Russia pays compensation to Kiev. If she refuses to compensate for the damage, the European Union will use the frozen Russian assets to repay Ukraine's debt. This will happen "in full compliance with international law," he said.

However, not all EU countries agreed even with this option. Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia refused to participate in financing Kiev, as explicitly stated in the final statement on Ukraine. By the way, Bratislava and Budapest did not even sign this document.

The decision of the EU Council is evidence of the crisis of the European Union, the inability of its leaders to impose their will on the national states of Europe, Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of Moscow State University, told Izvestia. In his opinion, the divisions within the EU will only intensify.

Other decisions of the EU Summit

Most of the funds allocated to Ukraine are planned to be used for the purchase of weapons and investments in the Ukrainian and European military-industrial complex. Moreover, some military production facilities in Kiev will be located on European territory. Earlier, such an agreement was signed by Ukraine and Denmark. Of the weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the most needed now are air defense and anti-UAV weapons, as well as large-caliber shells. It is likely that the loan funds will be used for them in the first place.

In addition, the statement speaks of "strong support for Ukraine's membership in the EU." However, no specific dates have been announced. Earlier it became known that Donald Trump's peace plan includes Kiev's accession to the EU in 2027. In Brussels, they immediately began to express concerns that this was impossible: it was necessary to complete all the reforms and reach an agreement with Hungary. The document also contains a willingness to impose additional sanctions against the Russian Federation in early 2026.

The main outcome of the EU summit was the defeat of the hardliners. Unexpectedly, even such European powers as Italy and Belgium refused to follow the path of complete destruction of international law. The Western press openly says that the failure of the frozen assets plan was a political disaster for both German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The New York Times writes that the behavior of European leaders showed "the indecision of the European Union at a key moment."

It is noteworthy that it was after the failed summit that statements appeared about readiness for dialogue with Russia. European leaders should be ready to interact directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin if negotiations mediated by the United States fail, French leader Emmanuel Macron said. Prior to that, he assured that the Europeans would be able to come to an agreement on the use of Russian assets.

"It will be useful to talk to Vladimir Putin again soon," Macron concluded.

The EU is split over how to deal with Russia. While the Baltic States, Scandinavia and Poland intend to completely sever ties with the Russian Federation and continue to support Ukraine, Southern Europe has taken a rather wait-and-see attitude and is not against restoring contacts with Moscow in the future. In Central and Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic joined Hungary and Slovakia, opponents of arming Ukraine at the expense of citizens.

— I think that other countries of Central and Eastern Europe will gradually move to these positions. Finally, there is a core that also has internal divisions: Italy is not happy with Germany's belligerent intentions," Shapovalov said.

In his opinion, the main reason for the failure of the European Union is that it has ceased to be an effective, successfully developing economy and a prosperous social environment, and also no longer performs its main function.

The political differences in the EU are very serious. The further development of the situation depends on the parliamentary elections in Hungary, says Vladimir Brutter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies. If Brussels can achieve the defeat of Viktor Orban, then the positions of the eurosceptics will seriously weaken. At the same time, the political scientist recalled that the heads of other Eastern European countries, such as Bulgaria and Croatia, also have a special position on the issue of Ukraine.