To convene parliaments: deputies from Russia and Europe will discuss the withdrawal of assets of the Central Bank

Deputies of the European Parliament and the State Duma will discuss the problem of the seizure of frozen assets of Russia, Izvestia found out. Negotiations can take place in Turkey. Before that, the politicians will meet in Sochi in November. So far, the opposition factions of the European Parliament have shown interest in contacts with the Russian Federation, but the participation of representatives of other parliamentary groups is possible. Experts believe that this format of interaction creates the foundation for a gradual restoration of relations in the future. However, there is currently no talk of a full-fledged resumption of parliamentary cooperation. About what other topics the deputies can discuss, see the Izvestia article.

Negotiations on the seizure of Russian assets in the EU

The parliamentary delegations of Russia and the European Union are planning a face-to-face meeting. It may take place in a third country, in particular in Turkey, Luxembourg's MEP Fernand Kartheiser told Izvestia. He also said that in November he would hold talks with Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs.

— I suggested organizing a conference outside the European Union, possibly in Turkey, to study the future architecture of European security, ways to prevent an arms race and relations between the EU and Russia. Mr. Slutsky welcomed this proposal. We also agreed to meet again in person in November," Kartheiser told Izvestia.

He clarified that the parties plan to discuss relations between the Russian Federation and the European Union, including the issue of the seizure of Russian assets. In addition, the topics of EU sanctions will be discussed, as well as ways to restore banking ties in the future, said French MP Thierry Mariani in an interview with Izvestia.

— This dialogue should make it possible to touch upon all sensitive topics without taboos: the issue of the seizure of Russian assets, economic sanctions, the restoration of banking ties, but above all the specific conditions for the gradual restoration of relations, and especially the choice of a peace architecture like the Helsinki Accords, an architecture that would ensure the security of both Russia and Ukraine, — the politician emphasized.

Before the talks in Turkey, Russian and European parliamentarians plan to meet in Sochi at an international symposium in the BRICS–Europe format, which will be held on November 14-15.

The choice of Turkey as the venue for the future conference is due to its mediation efforts: three rounds of negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine were held in Istanbul this year, before that the parties met there in 2022. It was also Ankara that organized the negotiations on the grain deal.

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The press service of Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma's International Affairs committee, confirmed to Izvestia that they were in contact with their European colleagues, but there were no specific dates for a new meeting yet.

In early October, Leonid Slutsky held videoconference talks with a group of EP deputies. This meeting was the first such contact in the last 11 years. According to Fernand Kartheiser, meetings of Russian and European deputies in video format are now planned to be held on a monthly basis.

Who in Europe is ready to negotiate with Russia

At the official level, representatives of the Europe of Sovereign Nations (25 deputies) and Patriots for Europe (84 deputies) factions declared their interest in dialogue with Russia. Kartheiser himself was a member of the "European Group of Conservatives and Reformists." However, due to the politician's visit to Russia in May, he was expelled from this faction and became an independent MP. The composition of the participants in future negotiations is still being formed, and it is possible that the ruling factions will also show interest.

Although the European Parliament is not directly involved in the process of using Russia's assets frozen in the EU, opposition MEPs may still resist this decision. Mainly through the introduction of resolutions and public opposition to the plans of the European Commission.

Political analyst Pavel Sklyanchuk told Izvestia that such formats can hardly be called full-fledged parliamentary diplomacy. However, they help not to interrupt contacts at all, the very fact of the meeting is important, even if it is in an online format.

— In the future, after the end of the CBO and the signing of the peace agreement, the work of parliamentarians in the foreign policy area will only increase. It will be necessary to restore the burned bridges of relations with different countries, as well as to eradicate Russophobia as a phenomenon among the political elite of different countries, the expert believes.

However, we are not talking about the resumption of interparliamentary cooperation at the institutional level, which existed between the European Parliament and the State Duma until 2014, Daria Moiseeva, Candidate of Political Sciences, chief analyst at ANO Kolaboratoria, told Izvestia.

"The incident can rather be qualified as a demarche by several individual MEPs who participated in the online meeting on their own initiative, that is, they were not appointed by the European Parliament as an official delegation," the political scientist emphasized.

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It is worth noting that meetings of Russian and European representatives in a third country are by no means a new format. After the termination of the official work of the parliamentary cooperation committee in 2014, representatives of the Russian Federation and the EU met in Belgrade. But such a platform did not work for long: in 2020, meetings were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, the European Parliament approved a report on relations between Russia and the European Union, in which it demanded the freezing of dialogue with the Russian Federation. After that, all official relations between the two parliaments were terminated.

How is the process of confiscation of Russian assets in the EU progressing?

Meanwhile, Brussels continues to try to coordinate the granting of a so-called reparation loan to Ukraine. According to the plan, Ukraine can receive about 140 billion euros from Russian assets frozen in the EU. Brussels expects to make significant progress on this issue by the end of the year, European Parliament deputy Tomasz Zdechowski told Izvestia. However, in this case, they will be able to issue a loan to Kiev only in the second quarter of 2026.

Currently, about €185-210 billion of reserves of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation are located in the EU, most of which are located in the Belgian depository Euroclear. In 2024, the G7 provided Kiev with a loan at the expense of future revenues from frozen Russian sovereign assets. In order to make such a decision in the format of the European Union, its countries must share the legal risks.

Belgium is especially worried about this. The Prime Minister of the kingdom, Bart de Wever, said that Brussels would block the EU's decision if the other EU members did not share the risks. De Wever noted that the consequences of such a step "will come not only for Belgium." The government of the country is urging to prepare for lawsuits from companies that may lose their assets in Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed skepticism about the initiative, citing the need to comply with international law. ECB President Christine Lagarde is also doubtful. And European businesses, primarily Italian and Belgian ones, are concerned about the possible consequences of transferring a reparation loan to Ukraine secured by frozen Russian assets.

Hungary and Slovakia are also opponents of the idea of using Russian assets. Budapest also wants to join forces with the Czech Republic to create an alliance in the European Union that would be skeptical of Ukraine, Politico reported. In particular, they are going to coordinate positions before meetings of EU leaders, including holding preliminary consultations before the summits. Therefore, there may be more opponents of drastic steps regarding Russian assets in Europe.