In December 2025, the European Union approves a measure making the freeze of Russian sovereign assets held in European jurisdictions indefinite, ending the system of periodic sanctions renewals.
The decision concerns approximately €210 billion in Russian reserves, largely held in European financial institutions.
A decision adopted by qualified majority
The measure is adopted through an urgent qualified majority vote, bypassing the unanimity rule that had previously required six‑month renewals of restrictive measures.
In prior years, sanctions renewals had repeatedly faced veto threats from individual member states, creating legal and political uncertainty over the continuity of the freeze.
The shift to qualified majority aims to:
- prevent recurring blockages
- ensure regulatory stability
- make the freeze structurally permanent
Indefinite freeze, not confiscation
The measure does not amount to formal confiscation:
- legal ownership remains with the Russian Federation
- assets remain immobilized but not transferred
- the use of principal remains subject to political and legal debate
The EU had already decided to allocate interest generated by frozen assets to support Ukraine.
Legal and geopolitical significance
The indefinite freeze constitutes a historic precedent:
- sovereign reserves are blocked without a defined expiration
- sanctions evolve into a stable regulatory condition
- Europe’s financial system takes on a more explicit political role
The decision reshapes perceptions of sovereign reserve security and may have long‑term implications for the international financial order.