FT: The EU is in a hurry to pass a special law on blocking Russian missiles

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EU countries intend to quickly pass a law on the indefinite blocking of Russian assets worth 210 billion euros in order to prevent a veto by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the upcoming EU summit.

Source: Financial Times, “European Truth”

Details: The rushed effort to pass legislation to use emergency powers to override a national veto on extending sanctions is aimed at protecting Brussels’ influence in U.S.-led peace talks over the war in Ukraine, officials familiar with the plans said.

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Diplomats dealing with this legislation see an advantage in quickly separating the contentious issue of freezing assets from the debate on providing Kyiv with a loan using Russian assets in the coming days.

At the same time, the publication states that Hungary and other EU countries will probably be dissatisfied with such a decision.

Last week, the European Commission proposed using 210 billion euros of Russia’s foreign assets to finance a loan to Kyiv, initially for 90 billion euros, to be paid over the next two years.

For the lending scheme to work, assets must be frozen indefinitely, not for six-month periods that can be extended only with the unanimous consent of all 27 EU countries.

Hungary opposes any further aid to Kyiv and regularly threatens to veto the continuation of sanctions.

EU officials fear that Orbán will follow through on his threat if Donald Trump’s administration decides to unilaterally lift US sanctions against Russia.

To circumvent the risk of sanctions being lifted, the European Commission has proposed using emergency powers used to deal with economic crises to impose asset sanctions indefinitely. Adopted under Article 122 of the EU treaties, it can be approved by most EU countries, bypassing potential vetoes.

EU leaders are expected to agree on the use of frozen Russian assets for a “reparation loan” to Ukraine at a summit on December 18-19.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi expressed confidence that Ukraine will receive the frozen funds of the Russian Federation.

Seven states wrote a letter to the EU leadership regarding the “reparation loan” to Ukraine. The main opponent remains the Belgian government. Recently, the president of the EC met with the Prime Minister of Belgium and the German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz for discussion of rosactives.

Note also that an alternative to the “reparation loan” was blocked by Hungary.

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