Europe exhausts legal tricks on frozen Russian assets

3 comments

1. [Unpaywalled Link](https://archive.ph/6bq8I)

   Submission Statement:

   European Commission President Ursela von der Leyen has reached for the nuclear option to try to save the EU’s proposal to use frozen Russian assets to provide a loan to the Ukrainian government, proposing to use the emergency powers contained in Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to bypass anticipated opposition from Hungary and Slovakia. Belgium, where most of the assets are stored, has also vehemently opposed the scheme, arguing that it could be left uniquely exposed to Russian retaliation and liability.

   As the article explains:

   > The proposal unveiled on Wednesday, which relied on powers envisaged for natural disasters to indefinitely immobilise Russian sovereign assets, was by far the most daring of the European Commission president’s fast-evolving schemes to support Ukraine.

   > With one leap of law, the Commission suggested a way to sidestep any veto threats from the likes of Viktor Orbán of Hungary — and with it the principle of unanimous consent on foreign policy that has endured since the Treaty of Rome that founded the European Community in 1957.

   It has unsurprisingly proven highly controversial, with some saying the Commission is overstepping its authority and opening the door to legal challenges, while others contend that the gravity of the situation necessitates bold action.

   As Jean-Claude Piris, a former director-general of the EU Council Legal Service, says in the article, “It is extraordinary. It is awfully difficult on a number of legal points. But it’s so important that I think they will push for it. They will do it, because this is a war.”

   Either way, the adoption of such a proposal would likely be a watershed moment in the evolution of the EU.

   The Commission’s hand was forced when the European Central Bank rejected a proposal to backstop the loan, leaving it with few options to advance the proposal ahead of the European Council summit scheduled for December 18-19. That meeting is seen as the EU’s last opportunity to secure funding for the Ukrainian government in order to forestall a potential fiscal crisis in 2026.

2. Why can’t european leaders just…. stop lying to their own populations?

   They’re the ones whose rhetoric created public expectations. The fact that they’ve catastrophically failed at basic expectations management and have done nothing except escalate their rhetoric for the past two years is their own fault.

   Hell Trump provided the perfect opportunity to completely shift the narrative. “Oh no we super really want to help ukraine but unfortunately Donald has turned up and ruined everything”. They even failed at that. Instead we get this nonsense ‘coalition of the willing’ where they just have regular ‘summits’ and come back with nothing of value whatsoever. No counter proposals, no pragmatic solutions… just ‘russia is bad and ukraine needs to win’.

   And now european leaders fail to put any actual money behind their actions and are seemingly trying to throw belgium under the bus for their own complete lack of ideas or commitment. But fundamentally it’s all a result of their own stupid politicking that’s forced them into a corner they can’t escape from. And now they’re just flailing wildly whilst saying the same tired old lines.

   On an unrelated note i still can’t believe they actually re-used GWBush’s ‘coalition of the willing’. Or maybe the irony was intentional and they are just a group of largely unwilling, coerced countries that don’t actually care.

3. Using emergency powers (with questionable justification) to bypass opposition from dissenting member states

   Almost Trumpian

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