The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has initiated legal proceedings against the European Union due to the indefinite blocking of its assets, which remain frozen following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This lawsuit marks the first action of such magnitude by the Russian central bank since February 2022, when the full-scale invasion began.
This is reported by Finway
Lawsuit Filed with the General Court of the EU and the Russian Position
The statement from the Central Bank of Russia was submitted to the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg. The complaint challenges the European Council’s decision of December 12, 2025, which provides for the continued blocking of Russian state assets. According to the Central Bank of Russia, this decision violates several fundamental principles of international law, including “the basic and inalienable rights to access to justice, the inviolability of property, and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks.”
According to the statement from the Russian central bank, the EU’s decision violates “the basic and inalienable rights to access to justice, the inviolability of property, and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks,” which are guaranteed by international law.
Freezing of Assets and the Position of European Countries
In December 2025, EU member states agreed to extend the freezing of approximately €210 billion of Russia’s sovereign assets, which were blocked due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The European Union plans to hold these funds until the end of the war and the payment of reparations by Russia to Ukraine. A significant portion of these assets is held in the Belgian depository Euroclear. At the same time, the Belgian government has previously expressed caution regarding EU initiatives to use these funds as collateral for financial assistance to Ukraine.
According to the statement from the Russian central bank, the EU regulation imposes an indefinite ban on any transactions with these assets, depriving the Bank of Russia of the ability to assert its rights in court, including seeking enforcement of court decisions regarding these funds. Additionally, Moscow has stated that there were serious procedural violations by the EU Council, as the adoption of the relevant regulation occurred by majority vote rather than unanimously.
Shortly after the publication of the regulation, the Central Bank of Russia warned the EU about the possibility of filing lawsuits in local courts seeking compensation from European banks if the funds were used to support Ukraine. Furthermore, in December, the Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit in Moscow against Euroclear for 18.2 trillion rubles (equivalent to $235 billion).