The European Commission is pushing back against growing calls to use the €210 billion in immobilised Russian central bank assets to help Ukraine, insisting that the issue is not currently at the top of its agenda. Speaking on Friday, chief spokesperson Paula Pinho said the executive had already done extensive work on the matter and that "the focus is somewhere else."
The statement comes as a coalition of member states — including Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, with backing from the Baltic nations — presses Brussels to devise fresh legal avenues to unlock the funds, which are held at Euroclear, the central securities depository in Brussels. Ukraine has thrown its weight behind the initiative, proposing the creation of an EU-owned custodian to manage the assets and circumvent Belgian objections.
This week, 122 members of the European Parliament from across party lines sent a letter to the Commission urging it to "reopen the political discussion" and advance the custodian proposal. The MEPs argue that such a mechanism could overcome the legal and financial concerns that have so far stalled progress.
But the Commission appears determined to manage expectations. Pinho outlined two immediate priorities: continuing the phased disbursement of the €90 billion loan package that covers both financial and military assistance for Ukraine, and working with the Ukrainian government and the International Monetary Fund to pin down the exact size of Kyiv's budget shortfall.
That shortfall has become a point of intense scrutiny since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surprised allies last month by requesting $27 billion (€23 billion) to cover a gap in the Ministry of Defence. Kyiv has also flagged €32.6 billion in uncovered budget needs for next year. EU and IMF officials are still trying to understand how these figures were calculated and what they represent.
Zelenskyy's request has laid bare the scale of Europe's challenge in sustaining Ukraine without reliable US contributions. It has also given fresh momentum to the idea of using the frozen Russian assets, which supporters say would spare European taxpayers from footing the bill.
The Commission's previous attempt to tap the assets — an inventive, multi-layered legal scheme — collapsed at a make-or-break European Council summit in December. The proposal met fierce resistance from Belgium, which hosts Euroclear, and drew strong reservations from the depository itself. The executive invested considerable political capital in defending the plan, only to see it fall apart.
Pinho insisted the idea was not dead. "We left it in December at a very important discussion at the European Council. We never said that it was out of the table. It remains there as a tool," she said. But she added that the Commission needs to assess Ukraine's additional financial needs "before we can speak of concrete possible tools to address them."
Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told Euronews that his services were ready to "re-engage" on the assets and "help find a way forward." However, he stopped short of committing to a new legal text, noting that the Commission would wait for guarantees that an "agreement can be reached among member states."
The reluctance in Brussels reflects a broader caution about reopening a debate that proved deeply divisive. Belgium has already signalled its opposition, and Euroclear has raised concerns about the legal and financial implications of seizing assets that are not directly linked to sanctions. Any new proposal would need unanimous support from the 27 member states, a high bar given the current mood.
Meanwhile, the pressure is unlikely to subside. The MEPs' letter and the backing of several national governments suggest that the issue will remain on the table, even if the Commission prefers to focus on other matters. For now, the executive is betting that a clearer picture of Ukraine's needs will eventually make the case for action more compelling — or at least more difficult to ignore.
As the debate drags on, the human cost of delay is mounting. Ukraine's military and civilian infrastructure continues to suffer under Russian attacks, and the threats to European security are not limited to the battlefield. The Baltic states, in particular, have been vocal about the need for decisive action, warning that hesitation only emboldens Moscow.
For now, the Commission's message is clear: patience. But with winter approaching and Ukraine's needs growing, the question of who pays — and how — is unlikely to disappear.
