Why the EU will not seize Russian state assets to rebuild Ukraine

“BANK ROBBERS should not expect banks to honour their safe deposit boxes.” So write Larry Summers, formerly America’s Treasury secretary, and his co-authors in a recent article arguing in favour of seizing Russian assets in Western accounts. More than €200bn ($225bn) of Russian central-bank assets are frozen in the EU alone. Politicians in the bloc’s eastern states, not to mention in Ukraine, want them used to pay for the damages caused by Russia’s invasion. The problem is that under international law there is no clear-cut way to seize those assets without a vote in the UN Security Council, a judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or a post-war settlement. Each of those would require Russia’s agreement.