Key facts
- EU lawmakers are urging leaders to use 200 billion euros of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine.
- The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly also called for using immobilized Russian assets for war damage compensation.
- The vast majority of frozen Russian Central Bank assets, 180 billion euros, are held in Belgium.
- A World Bank report estimates Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction costs at $588 billion.
- The EU failed to agree on using these assets in December 2025 but agreed to maintain their immobilization.
- EU lawmakers propose transferring immobilized Russian accounts to an EU instrument to share legal risks.
EU lawmakers are intensifying efforts to utilize approximately 200 billion euros of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, citing the urgent need for financing and compensation for war damages. The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has also proposed using these immobilized assets for compensation, though it operates separately from the EU. The EU has struggled to reach an agreement on the use of these funds, with Belgium previously raising legal concerns due to the concentration of assets held by Euroclear within its borders.
Members of the European Parliament have penned a joint letter urging swift action, proposing that immobilized Russian accounts be transferred to an EU-controlled entity to collectively share legal risks. This initiative follows a letter from four EU countries—Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain—that reignited discussions. The estimated cost of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction, according to a World Bank report, stands at $588 billion, highlighting the significant funding gap that frozen Russian assets could potentially help address.