"EU 16-hour closed-door battle, announced at dawn: not touching a single penny of Russia!"
You didn't misread. Just yesterday (December 19) early in the morning, as the Brussels summit just ended, a major news story swept the international political and economic circles: the plan pushed by German Chancellor Merkel and European Commission President von der Leyen to "use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine" officially failed!
This is not a technical disagreement, but a real-life interest game. The EU froze about 210 billion euros of Russian central bank assets, 90% of which are stored in the Brussels-based European Central Bank. However, Belgium led the opposition, France hesitated, and Hungary directly spoke up: "This is robbery!" Even the European Central Bank warned that once this precedent is set, global capital will immediately question the financial security of the eurozone.
The final compromise solution came: the EU will issue bonds, investing 90 billion euros in aid to Ukraine over the next two years, with the money guaranteed by the EU budget, but without touching the principal of Russian assets or setting any collateral. More importantly, this money will only be repaid when Russia "admits liability" in the future, effectively passing the legal dilemma to the future.
Russia immediately issued a tough statement: it has filed a lawsuit against the European Central Bank, claiming 1.6 trillion yuan in compensation, with the trial scheduled for January 16th next year!
On the surface, it's about aiding Ukraine, but in reality, it's a big test of the EU's trust chain. Do you think this "collective brake" was rational or a sign of cowardice? Let's discuss in the comments????
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851981714732108/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.