Coin dispute: Slovakia will block the withdrawal of Russian assets in the EU
Bratislava does not support the confiscation of Russia's sovereign funds frozen in the EU, Lubos Blaha, deputy head of the ruling Smer party, told Izvestia. Earlier, a group of MEPs called for the withdrawal of about €200 billion of Russian assets from the Belgian Euroclear depository in order to use them to support Ukraine. According to Izvestia's sources, the scenario of using the blocked funds will be discussed at meetings of the foreign ministers of the countries and the leaders of the EU countries in mid-October. Experts believe that it is extremely difficult to reach a consensus on this topic, so the decision will be delayed, especially since the EU financial structures are concerned about Russia's retaliatory measures.
Slovakia is against the seizure of Russian assets
The issue of using Russia's blocked assets is likely to be part of the agenda of the meeting of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs on October 12, as well as the summit of European leaders on October 15-16, a European source told Izvestia. Yesterday, a group of 122 MEPs officially proposed withdrawing about €200 billion of Russian funds from the Belgian Euroclear depository in order to use them to support Ukraine— the French newspaper Les Échos reported.
Slovakia opposes the confiscation of Russia's sovereign assets frozen in the EU, deputy head of the ruling Smer party, MEP Lubos Blaha, told Izvestia.
"As for Slovakia, our position is unequivocal: we do not support confiscation, as well as any participation by Slovakia that would entail any financial obligations for our country," Blaha told Izvestia.
According to him, the essence of the discussions in the EU is "how to steal Russian money so as to avoid severe punishment." Belgium may suffer especially from this, for which participation in the EC plans threatens "an absolute financial catastrophe and immediate bankruptcy," the MEP said. Therefore, the most discussed scenario is the transfer of frozen assets from Euroclear to a specially created mechanism under the control of the European Commission, as previously reported by Izvestia. The options include the European Investment Bank or one of the EU's special funds. In this case, all member countries of the association will be responsible in case of possible legal and financial consequences.
Member of the European Parliament Lubos Blaha
The Russian sovereign funds held in the Euroclear depository were blocked in February 2022. The European Commission tried to push through their use for lending to Ukraine at the end of last year, but the plan failed due to opposition from Belgium, Hungary and Slovakia, as well as a number of other countries. Then Brussels gave Ukraine its own loan of €90 billion, in which Bratislava, Budapest and Prague refused to participate, but did not block its approval.
Now the issue of crediting Ukraine with Russian funds has returned to the agenda. At the end of August, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden officially appealed to the European Commission to find ways to transfer money from the Russian Federation to Kiev.
Slovakia's restrained position is due to the fact that the country's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, is betting on a peaceful settlement of the conflict and does not agree to finance military supplies to Kiev, political analyst Ilya Shcherbakov told Izvestia. In addition, Slovakia receives oil and gas from the Russian Federation, so it opposes Brussels' plans to abandon Russian resources by 2027. According to Mikhail Vedernikov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Bratislava fears a violation of the stability of the EU financial system, and actions against Russian assets could set a dangerous precedent.
Moscow's retaliatory measures are raising the alarm of European financiers. In May, the Moscow Arbitration Court fully satisfied the Bank of Russia's claim against Euroclear for damages from blocking reserves in the amount of 18.17 trillion rubles, including lost profits. The petition for the immediate execution of this verdict was also supported, and the European side's counterclaims for the suspension of enforcement proceedings were rejected.
EU discussion on financing Ukraine
The European Union is facing growing difficulties in sponsoring Kiev. The increase in the budget deficit forced the Ukrainian authorities to ask Brussels to allocate part of the loan of €90 billion ahead of schedule, which was originally calculated until the end of 2027. The European Union rejected Ukraine's request for additional funding, demanding that part of the reforms be carried out first, the Financial Times reports. In particular, Kiev is required to cancel VAT benefits for small parcels and introduce new taxation rules for digital platforms.
The leadership of the European Commission is trying to pretend that everything is under control. Last week, European Commissioner for Economics Valdis Dombrovskis said that Ukraine's budget needs for this year were "mostly covered" and the financial situation was not as acute as Kiev claimed. However, if Ukraine needs an additional $27 billion this year, then next year it will be almost $78 billion. This is the reason for the resumption of discussions about the use of Russian assets.
According to Mikhail Vedernikov, Bratislava is unlikely to be able to resist pressure from Brussels if the confiscation scenario suits the leading EU countries, including Belgium. The expert believes that, if not now, then in the future, given the limited ability of the EU to finance the conflict in Ukraine, a decision on the use of Russian assets will still be made.
Germany, Italy and France will play a key role in this issue. At the end of 2025, the German leadership, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, insisted on a tough scenario. However, according to the FT, after 16 hours of discussions, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni did not support this proposal.
Ilya Shcherbakov believes that a decision on the fate of Russian assets should not be expected in the near future, it will be delayed as much as possible. It is important that Slovakia is not alone in its position. Bulgaria can take her side, which, after the arrival of Prime Minister Rumen Radev, began to support a diplomatic settlement. In December last year, Andrei Babis, who regained the post of head of the Czech government, also opposed the seizure of assets of the Russian Federation.
An attempt to use the blocked funds of the Russian Federation will mean a new escalation. It will obviously hit the financial system of the entire European Union, undermining its credibility. In particular, the withdrawal of capital from China and the Persian Gulf countries is likely. In Russia, unification plans are called theft, so European actions in this direction may significantly complicate any improvement in relations in the future.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
