“The EU can use the 1944 law to maintain sanctions against RussiaA Belgian royal decree dating back to World War II could help preserve frozen Russian assets in the event of a Hungarian veto.
Orban threatens to block the extension of EU sanctions, waiting for Trump’s position.”, — write: unn.ua
The World War II-era royal decree is seen as a fallback option to keep Russia’s frozen 190 billion euros in the EU if Hungary vetoes the reimposition of sanctions.
Transmits to UNN with reference to FT.
Details
European officials see an 81-year-old law involving the Belgian king as a secret weapon in case of a Hungarian veto of further expansion of sanctions against Russia, a 1944 Belgian law that could block any exit of Russian securities frozen in Euroclear.
The World War II-era legislative text is likely to prevent the withdrawal of assets from the country, according to several officials involved in the discussions, the Financial Times reports .
This will be one of the possible options if Viktor Orban’s Hungary blocks the extension of European sanctions against Russia.
Viktor Orbán threatens again, but also wants to see what the new US administration will do
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the other 26 leaders of the bloc in December that he could block the extension of EU sanctions against Russia this month, a move that would see the measures expire on January 31.
Orban said he was looking forward to Donald Trump’s inauguration. If Trump eases US sanctions against Moscow, Orban said he would insist that the EU follow suit.
On Friday, Hungary’s prime minister told the media that Brussels should “adapt to the new situation – it’s time to throw sanctions out the window.
The danger of war will be significantly reduced [under a Trump presidency]. The next biggest source of danger is energy prices. We must prevent Brussels from imposing sanctions…
“There have been significant changes in the US administration…We want to postpone our decision until we know how the US administration sees the future of the sanctions regime,” Janos Boca, Hungary’s EU Affairs Minister, told reporters on Thursday.
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On Wednesday, the Biden administration, in an effort to complicate Trump’s possible efforts to remove the sanctions list, added about 100 organizations from the financial, energy and defense sectors to the list, in accordance with a law that requires congressional involvement.
EU officials and diplomats work on a solution for Russian assets
Meanwhile, EU officials are focused on convincing Orban to keep sanctions against companies and Russian sovereign assets in the EU frozen. Officials claim to be working on measures that could protect the sanctions.
Among them are about 190 billion euros of Russian state assets in the Belgian central securities depository Euroclear. The proceeds from these assets will be used to repay the $50 billion loan to Ukraine.
Officials believe that the decision is an important part of a potential ceasefire agreement.
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