Bravo veto: Slovakia will block new attempts to seize Russian assets

Bratislava will oppose new initiatives to expropriate Russian assets, deputy head of Slovakia's ruling SMER party Lubos Blaha told Izvestia. According to him, the European Commission may change the procedure, but the republic is ready to coordinate the opponents of confiscation. The EC was unable to agree on this decision at the EU summit on December 18-19, but reserved the right to use Russian funds in the future. According to analysts, Brussels will try to work with each of the opponents of the idea separately. France and Italy play a key role in this regard, as they are moving away from Germany, the main proponent of asset confiscation in the Russian Federation.

A new attempt to steal Russian money

The European Commission failed to agree on a scheme using Russia's frozen assets to issue a loan to Ukraine at the EU summit on December 18-19. However, Brussels does not intend to abandon this scenario. According to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU reserves the right to use blocked Russian funds and will continue to explore this possibility.

Slovakia will block new attempts by the European Commission to seize the sovereign assets of the Russian Federation, deputy head of the country's ruling SMER party, MEP Lubos Blaha, told Izvestia.

—Slovakia and Prime Minister Fico, as head of government, are determined to do everything so that in the future such a shameless robbery would not be possible, which would not help anything, but would only turn the once reliable European community into an ordinary gang of robbers and would lead to a huge escalation of the conflict," the politician said.

The issue of using Russian assets has not really been removed from the agenda. The European Union still has a rather tempting opportunity to use the issue of assets as a tool of pressure, even if it is still virtual, Egor Sergeev, a senior researcher at the MGIMO Institute of International Studies at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia.

— In many EU documents, the issue of asset freezing is actually linked to the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Even in the case of a hypothetical settlement of the conflict in the near future, it cannot be ruled out that the EU, for example, will refuse to recognize Russia's sovereignty over certain territories and will consider this fact as a continuation of the confrontation, the expert explained.

Asset confiscation procedure

The main contradiction lies in the fact that, according to international law, State assets are protected by immunity. Therefore, there is simply no legal procedure for withdrawing sovereign funds from another country. Ursula von der Leyen believes that a qualified majority is enough to make a decision to step over this — at least 55% of the EU countries, which represent 65% of the inhabitants of the union.

Opponents insist that this decision belongs to the sphere of foreign policy, therefore, its adoption requires unanimity. Lubos Blaha stressed that "Brussels is not too interested in the current rules and quite unceremoniously finds creative ways to circumvent them." He cited as an example the situation with the abandonment of Russian energy resources. The decision on this issue was just made by a qualified majority instead of unanimity.

"Therefore, I fear that, theoretically, a possible theft of Russian property in this spirit in the future is still possible," Blaha said.

Seven countries openly opposed the EC's proposal: Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Their total share in the EU population is less than 25%, which means that technically the European Commission could have made a decision. However, according to the FT, France unexpectedly opposed this proposal. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz considered this a betrayal, the media wrote. Apparently, it was after this that the idea of using the assets of the Russian Federation failed.

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According to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russia's retaliatory measures influenced the determination of the Eurosammit participants. On December 12, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation filed a lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court against Euroclear in the amount of 18 trillion rubles. Representatives of European businesses also pointed out the danger of large financial losses in the event of a Russian response. As a result, the complete unpredictability of the consequences and high risks forced the EU countries to abandon asset withdrawal at this stage.

The split of the EU into two camps

Slovakia is ready to take a leading role in coordinating opponents of the confiscation of Russian assets, Lubos Blaha told Izvestia. According to him, the country is threatened with withdrawal of European funding for its principled position.

"When a small Eastern European country like Slovakia allows itself to express an opinion other than the only acceptable fanatically Russophobic one, the response is an arrogant rebuke, as the German chancellor recently demonstrated by threatening us with the withdrawal of euro funds,— said the deputy head of the SMER party.

By the way, since January 1, 2025, Hungary has officially lost access to aid worth more than €1 billion from EU funds. The reason was Budapest's ongoing dispute with Brussels over violations of the rule of law. Money deprivation is the main whip of the European Commission in the fight against dissent. As a carrot, the EC and Germany can offer financial guarantees.

— Theoretically, they can drive a wedge into the emerging opposition by acting precisely and choosing a convenient format of dialogue with each side. Economic restrictions are usually used in relation to Eastern European countries, and Brussels may try to find common ground with the leaders of France and Italy on certain political issues," political analyst Egor Belyachkov told Izvestia.

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In addition to influential Germany, the Baltic states, Scandinavia and Poland are among the supporters of the idea of withdrawal. These states are extremely anti-Russian and are ready to completely sever ties with the Russian Federation. By the way, the main advocate for the theft of Russian assets within the European Commission is the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaya Kallas, the former Prime Minister of Estonia.

However, the number of supporters and opponents can vary significantly, depending primarily on external reasons: the course of hostilities, the situation on the negotiating track, and the position of the American administration. Therefore, situational coalitions can change, Egor Sergeev believes.

A critical mass of countries is forming in the EU that oppose the conflict with Russia, said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University. The Czech Republic now joins the traditional supporters of peaceful means — Hungary and Slovakia. A number of Southern European states, primarily Italy, have a negative attitude towards radical steps against Russia. In this regard, the drift of Paris from the position of Berlin and the European Commission towards Rome is important.