Euroclear, l’istituzione belga che gestisce i beni russi congelati, che ‘non esclude’ di fare causa all’Ue

As others did, Valérie Urbain learned about the shocking proposal by reading the news. The director general of Euroclear, the European securities depository holding some €200 billion in frozen Russian assets since the invasion of Ukraine, had not been informed by Friedrich Merz. So it was early on September 25, while checking her phone, she saw the front page of the [*Financial Times*](https://www.ft.com/content/3ac05cd3-483b-4106-9c2c-4f05e4ba744a)*:* The German chancellor had a plan to create a measure to lend €140 billion to Ukraine using the frozen Russian assets, but without confiscating them. The proposal has since been at the center of intense discussions that European Union heads of state and government are set to decide at the next European Council summit, on December 18 and 19.

While Urbain was not alerted, she still holds the keys to these assets. She heads Euroclear, an institution that is little-known but essential to the financial system. This depository is where central banks and major international investment funds deposit their securities (stocks, bonds, financial products). Euroclear manages €42.5 trillion in deposits – 14 times the size of France’s gross domestic product. Yet at its headquarters in the center of Brussels, there is no sign of a vault. Everything is dematerialized, with data hosted in multiple data centers around the world.

Among this vast sum – whose amount appears on no screen at headquarters – are €193 billion in Russian money, most of it (€180 billion) belonging to the Central Bank of Russia. This windfall, frozen after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the first Western sanctions, has become highly coveted. On Thursday, November 13, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated her support for Merz’s plan: “This is the most effective way to sustain Ukraine’s defense and its economy.”

But Urbain is warning that seizing this money is out of the question. “The most important thing for Euroclear is credibility and trust,” she stressed, within the first two minutes of her interview with *Le Monde*. “We are an essential link that must remain infallible for the stability of financial markets.” Anything that even remotely resembles confiscation would be illegal, she cautioned: “We must be extremely vigilant. [That would go against] the international law of sovereign assets belonging to a state. Russia could then take legal action.”

If the European Union ultimately adopts a solution that resembles confiscation, Urbain said she is ready to respond in court: “There are laws. Depending on the legal framework, we will decide what we can and want to do.”

Does she envision legal action against EU bodies if Euroclear’s board believes its “fiduciary duties” are being compromised? “It is not out of the question,” she warned, while acknowledging that her teams have not, for now, prepared a case. Nevertheless, Euroclear has already had to strengthen its legal team since 2022, growing from about 10 to nearly 200 employees.

Read the article on the little-known but central player in Europe’s financial system, Euroclear, at this link: [https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/11/15/euroclear-the-belgian-institution-managing-frozen-russian-assets-that-will-not-rule-out-suing-the-eu_6747484_19.html](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/11/15/euroclear-the-belgian-institution-managing-frozen-russian-assets-that-will-not-rule-out-suing-the-eu_6747484_19.html)

When did russia give back the Romanian Treasure?

Or the money of all the 400 stolen aircraft?

Or all the artifacts stolen in Ukraine?

That’s nice. They’ll be lucky if they’re not in prison

I don´t understand why this is still discussed. With a single blow, trust in the EU would evaporate were we to arbitrarily seize assets of a country. Nothing will stop other countries from getting their money out of the EU.

Well, if Belgium gets stubborn, there’s the Norwegian Fund as an insurance cushion.