EU Still Plotting Seizure of Russian Assets

In December, the EU did not provide unanimous support for a full seizure of Russian assets currently frozen in Europe. But the European Union is working on a new trick to get access to the money: transfer it from the Belgium-based depository Euroclear to another custodian. Brussels officials say this would reduce the legal and financial risks for Belgium while still providing the EU an avenue to act on the frozen funds. As Reuters reported, one model under consideration involves creating a special depository fund to which management rights over the assets would be transferred. This scheme is to bypass the need to have unanimous support from the member states, allowing this action to be approved by a majority vote of the EU member states