Key facts
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated frozen Russian assets should remain European.
- EU leaders rejected a US proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets to US control.
- Finland's PM Orpo called the idea of releasing assets 'completely out of the question'.
- Austria's PM Stocker cited US policy volatility as a reason to keep assets in Europe.
- EU countries have immobilized about €210 billion of Russian central bank assets.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that frozen Russian assets in Europe should remain under European control, rejecting a reported US proposal to transfer them to a US-supervised entity. The comments came as EU leaders met in Brussels on October 15, where multiple leaders firmly rebuffed the idea of handing over the approximately €210 billion ($227 billion) of immobilized Russian assets held in the bloc. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called the idea of releasing the assets 'completely out of the question,' while Austrian Prime Minister Christian Stocker expressed skepticism due to US policy volatility. EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas affirmed that decisions on frozen assets and sanctions lifting are for Europeans to make.