Proposal would move frozen Russian assets from Euroclear to a new EU custodian

Why it matters

The proposal offers a concrete legal-financial path to put frozen Russian sovereign assets to work for Ukraine without immediate confiscation, sidestepping the intra-EU disputes over national guarantees that have stalled earlier schemes. Its authors argue it could also strengthen Europe's diplomatic hand in pushing for a just peace, and serve as a template for other holders of significant Russian assets, including the UK, Canada and Japan.

What happened

At an event at the EPC analytical centre in Brussels, political commentator Hugo Dixon, together with co-authors Lee Buchheit (Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh Law School) and Dalip Singh (Vice-Chair and Chief Global Economist at PGIM), presented a proposal to transfer frozen Russian Central Bank accounts from individual national depositaries to a special EU instrument.

Under the scheme, accounts currently held at Euroclear in Belgium, Clearstream in Luxembourg and other institutions in France and the EU would move to the EU-level custodian, with both the assets and the obligations attached to them transferring together on a change-of-depository basis. Russia's formal ownership rights would remain in place at this stage. The EU itself would take on the legal and financial protection of Euroclear, Clearstream, Belgium and other depositaries against possible Russian countermeasures or confiscations.

Because obligations to Russia would pass directly to the EU, Euroclear would no longer need emergency liquidity lines or special state guarantees, removing the need for individual member-state guarantees that had previously divided EU countries. Dixon described the plan as a first stage that would not move money to Ukraine immediately but would create the legal and financial basis for a later step. He said the initiative already has the support of several EU member states and a number of MEPs, and that the mechanism would remain open to other holders of significant Russian assets, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. Asked whether the Belgian government had responded, Dixon said no such response had yet been received.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrinform, the lead Ukrainian source, frames the proposal through the lens of Ukraine's acute budget deficit under continued Russian attacks on key economic sectors. The outlet cites Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, who said the situation is an "extreme challenge" and that it is appropriate to revisit the use of frozen Russian assets for additional state financing. Ukrinform also flags the open question of Belgian backing for the plan, noting Dixon's remark that no response from the Belgian government had been received.

Background

Russia's frozen Central Bank assets are held across several EU jurisdictions, including Euroclear in Belgium and Clearstream in Luxembourg. Earlier EU discussions on using these assets in Ukraine's interest stalled over the question of which member states would provide guarantees to depositaries such as Euroclear. The new proposal draws explicitly on the precedent of the transfer of Central Bank of Iraq accounts after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, applying the same change-of-depository logic to insulate national depositaries from legal exposure.