Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 11, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Europe will soon act to immobilise Russian assets to fund Ukraine, according to Irish finance minister Simon Harris. Legal concerns from Belgium may delay the decision.
BRUSSELS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Europe will take measures in the coming days over immobilising Russian assets in order to fund Ukraine, said Ireland's finance minister Simon Harris at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers.
"The funding need is urgent. We need to make sure Russia pays," said Harris, adding it would be 'good to have' a decision this week.
The European Commission has proposed an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise money for Ukraine. The Commission prefers a "reparations loan" using Russian state assets immobilised in the EU due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But Belgium, which holds most of the assets in the Euroclear securities depository, has raised a range of legal concerns, delaying a decision.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
Immobilising assets refers to the process of freezing or restricting access to financial assets, often as a measure to enforce sanctions or legal actions.
A reparations loan is a financial mechanism proposed to use frozen state assets to fund reparations or support for affected nations, such as Ukraine in this context.
The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, and managing the EU's day-to-day operations.
International borrowing involves countries or organizations obtaining funds from foreign lenders, often to finance projects or cover budget deficits.
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