Legal aspects of the use of profits from Russian sovereign assets by EU countries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6416433 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vadim V Voynikov |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 30-48 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Baltic Region (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2310-0524 • E-ISSN: 2079-8555 |
| Publisher | Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (PUBLISHER • RU) |
| DOI | 10.5922/2079-8555-2025-2-2 |
| OpenAlex | W7105899450 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
The issue of using frozen Russian sovereign assets has remained at the centre of political and expert debate for nearly three years. In 2024, the G7 decided to allocate profits generated from these assets to service a syndicated loan intended to finance military and other forms of assistance to Ukraine. In early 2024, within the framework of its sanctions policy, the European Union adopted a set of legislative instruments designed to establish a Union-level legal mechanism for appropriating the profits derived from the investment of frozen Russian sovereign assets. This decision poses a serious challenge to modern international law and the system of international relations. This article seeks to outline the key characteristics of the EU-agreed mechanism for the utilization of Russian sovereign assets, with a view to evaluating its consistency with international law and the legal framework of the European Union itself. In pursuit of this aim, the author examines the legal dimension of the mechanism for the expropriation of profits from the use of Russian sovereign assets and attempts to model its potential implications, including possible countermeasures by the Russian Federation. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the mechanism as adopted may result in a breach of the Russian Federation’s sovereign property rights, as well as other foundational principles of international law. Moreover, the EU’s decision to channel profits from Russian sovereign assets into the EU’s ownership raises a number of additional legal conflicts under both national and EU law
European union · Expropriation · Foreign direct investment · International law · Loan · Sanctions · Sovereign state · Sovereignty · Economic Sanctions and International Relations · Security, Politics, and Digital Transformation · State Capitalism and Financial Governance
| Highly cited | No |
|---|