EU: Permanent freezing of Russian assets enables a reparation loan for Ukraine

“The written procedure has been completed, 25 countries are in favor, two are against,” said a European diplomatic source, without specifying which two countries were against.

Riverč is a key part of the European Commission’s proposal to use frozen Russian assets as the basis for a reparation loan for Ukraine.

Sanctions against Russia, including freezing the assets of the Russian Central Bank, according to EU rules must be renewed every six months and unanimously, which means that any member can block the extension.

In the event of such a blockade, Russian assets would be automatically unfrozen, and the burden of loan repayment would fall on the member states. Now the Commission has proposed the use of Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which foresees the possibility of shifting decision-making by consensus to a qualified majority in emergency situations.

The commission proposed a regulation based on Article 122 to prohibit the transfer of Russian funds until the issue of the damage caused by the Russian war attack on Ukraine is resolved.