Russian central bank challenges EU’s indefinite freeze of its assets at EU General Court
The Facts
- The Russian central bank has filed a legal action at the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg challenging an EU regulation that indefinitely freezes its assets in the EU.
- The contested measure is an EU Council regulation adopted on December 12, 2025 that introduced an indefinite, or open-ended, freeze on Russian central bank assets in the EU.
- The Russian central bank argues that the EU regulation violates fundamental rights including the inviolability of property, access to justice, and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks.
- The Russian central bank also claims there were serious procedural violations in adopting the regulation, saying it was approved by a majority of EU member states rather than unanimously.
- EU officials say they are fully convinced of the legality of the measure freezing Russian central bank assets.
- The EU has frozen more than €200 billion in Russian central bank assets in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The application to the EU General Court was submitted on February 27 and publicly announced by the Russian central bank on March 3.
- Separately from the EU case, the Russian central bank has filed a lawsuit in Moscow against Belgian depository Euroclear seeking compensation of about 18.2 trillion rubles, or roughly €200–235 billion, over the frozen assets.
Context
What exactly is the EU measure that Russia’s central bank is challenging?
The Russian central bank is challenging an EU Council regulation adopted on December 12, 2025 that imposes an indefinite freeze on its assets held in the European Union and prohibits any direct or indirect transfer of those assets back to Russia Lenta.ru,SAPO,Коммерсант.…,Коммерсант.…,Deutsche Welle. According to the bank, this regulation also removes the possibility of judicial protection for its rights over the assets, including enforcing court or arbitral decisions related to them Lenta.ru,SAPO,Коммерсант.…,unian,Deutsche Welle.
On what legal grounds is the Russian central bank contesting the EU asset freeze?
The bank argues that the regulation breaches basic and inalienable rights such as access to justice, the inviolability of property, and the principle of sovereign immunity of states and their central banks, which it says are guaranteed by international treaties and EU law Lenta.ru,РИА Новости,Московский …,Коммерсант.…,Коммерсант.…,unian,Deutsche Welle,Deutsche Welle. It also claims the EU committed serious procedural violations by adopting the measure by majority vote rather than unanimously, allegedly contradicting the EU’s own treaty rules on such sanctions kp.ru,Spiegel Online,NTV,birgun.net,Focus,ZEIT ONLINE,Московский …,Коммерсант.…,Коммерсант.…,Deutsche Welle,Deutsche Welle,Der Tagesspiegel.
How does this EU case relate to Russia’s separate lawsuit against Euroclear?
The EU case seeks annulment of the EU Council regulation that provides the legal basis for the indefinite freeze of Russian central bank assets in the bloc, and is framed as a challenge to a public-law act rather than a damages claim Lenta.ru,Lenta.ru,Коммерсант.…,Коммерсант.…,unian,Deutsche Welle. In parallel, the Russian central bank has brought a civil lawsuit in Moscow against Belgian depository Euroclear, demanding about 18.2 trillion rubles (around €200–235 billion) in compensation for alleged losses and lost profits stemming from the same freeze NTV,Lenta.ru,Reuters.
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