{"id":37286,"date":"2025-12-13T15:41:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T15:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/eu-downplays-russian-lawsuit-against-euroclear\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T15:41:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T15:41:44","slug":"eu-downplays-russian-lawsuit-against-euroclear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/eu-downplays-russian-lawsuit-against-euroclear\/","title":{"rendered":"EU downplays Russian lawsuit against Euroclear"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has called the case \u201cspeculative,\u201d insisting that the bloc is acting within its legal prerogatives<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Russian central bank against Euroclear, the Brussels-based depository which holds most of Russia\u2019s frozen sovereign assets, calling it <em>\u201cspeculative.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Kiev\u2019s Western backers froze around $300 billion in Russian central bank assets under Ukraine-related sanctions, most of it held at Euroclear.<\/p>\n<p>Moscow has long condemned the move. The Bank of Russia <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/629354-bank-russia-lawsuit-euroclear\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">announced<\/a>\u00a0on Friday that it is filing a lawsuit seeking compensation from Euroclear for damages stemming from its <em>\u201cinability to manage\u201d<\/em> the assets. This comes amid a dispute between EU nations that are pushing to use the assets as collateral for a \u2018reparations loan\u2019 for Kiev, and those that are opposed. A vote on the plan is expected next week.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters on Friday, Dombrovskis said the assets were frozen <em>\u201cin line with EU sanctions and international law,\u201d<\/em> claiming they were <em>\u201cnot seized\u201d<\/em> and that <em>\u201cthe principle of sovereign immunity is respected.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mf.b37mrtl.ru\/files\/2025.12\/thumbnail\/693c367f20302707b53103a4.jpg\" alt=\"RT composite.\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/629384-euroclear-moscow-sue-bank\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">From threats to action: Why Moscow\u2019s case against Euroclear could be a harbinger of things to come<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>\u201cWe can expect that Russia will continue to launch speculative legal proceedings to prevent the EU from upholding international law,\u201d<\/em> he said, adding that the frozen assets fall under EU jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p>Dombrovskis insisted that European institutions holding Russian assets will be <em>\u201cfully protected\u201d<\/em> from legal action by the sanctions regime, which allows them to <em>\u201coffset\u201d<\/em> any losses.<\/p>\n<p>His remarks come after the bloc <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/629387-eu-votes-russian-assets-indefinite-seizure\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">approved<\/a>\u00a0controversial legislation on Friday changing the mechanism for keeping the assets frozen, replacing the current system with a long-term arrangement that could keep the freeze in place indefinitely and shield it from vetoes by opposing states. The move is seen as the first step toward advancing a \u2018reparations loan\u2019.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\n        <span><strong>Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<figure>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mf.b37mrtl.ru\/files\/2025.12\/thumbnail\/693d4bcd85f54076273f1c85.jpg\" alt=\"Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico.\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/629409-slovakia-wont-support-war\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Slovakia \u2018won\u2019t support anything\u2019 that helps prolong Ukraine conflict \u2013 Fico<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/629407-eu-opposition-russia-assets\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Some<\/a>\u00a0EU states, including Belgium, have raised concerns over the scheme, citing legal and financial risks. Euroclear has criticized it as <em>\u201cfragile\u201d<\/em> and overly experimental.<\/p>\n<p>Russia has condemned the idea of using its assets to aid Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it <em>\u201ca grand scam.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Some analysts view the lawsuit against Euroclear as the opening round in Russia\u2019s fight against the legislation. Although the case was filed in a Russian court, they warn that if it spreads to other jurisdictions, it could trigger lengthy litigation harmful to both Euroclear and the EU, creating logistical hurdles, reputational risks, and damaging the bloc\u2019s investment climate.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has called the case \u201cspeculative,\u201d insisting that the bloc is acting within its legal prerogatives EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Russian central bank against Euroclear, the Brussels-based depository which holds most of Russia\u2019s frozen sovereign assets, calling it \u201cspeculative.\u201d Kiev\u2019s Western backers froze around [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-25 14:46:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpnewswire.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}