German and Other Western European Governments Open to Using Frozen Russian Funds

By Jacob Kehoe

After being a voice of caution for quite some time, it seems as if the German government is finally relaxing its views on the usage of frozen Russian funds. The Frozen Funds, which are equal to about 300 billion dollars, were frozen in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. For the longest time, Germany and other key Western European governments held back from using the funds in fear of legal risks (sovereign immunity, international law, precedent) and collateral damage to EU financial stability. Now the Germans are more open to the idea of using those funds. This mainly has to do with the concern that U.S. support for Ukraine may wane, especially under President Trump, and that Europe, and Germany in particular, may need to bear more of the financial burden. Germany, in recent months, has been increasingly open to the idea of not only rearming but also increasing its defense budget to further react to the war in Ukraine and an increasingly violent Russia in the East. 

Besides Germany, other Western European nations are also getting on board to use the funds further. These nations, along with Germany, are currently working on productive plans to use these funds to further the Ukrainian cause. EU President Ursula von der Leyen said recently that Europe must find new ways in which Russia must pay for this ongoing conflict in Ukraine. These funds are just the beginning of a hopefully new set of ideas that the EU can use to frustrate Russia. If Europe gets this right, it could send a message: aggression has costs, and even state assets parked abroad are not beyond accountability.