France has declined to reveal where €18 billion in frozen Russian assets are held, complicating tense negotiations within the European Union over future financial support for Ukraine. Although Paris has publicly endorsed a plan to use immobilised Russian assets as collateral for a significant EU loan to Kyiv, it has privately pushed back against allowing funds held by commercial banks to be drawn into the scheme. According to The Financial Times, French officials argue that exposing private institutions to potential losses from a proposed €140 billion “reparations loan” could place the country’s banking sector at risk.
EU member states are currently embroiled in fraught discussions over how to provide Ukraine with guaranteed funding for the next two years. The proposal would see a portion of the roughly €210 billion in frozen Russian assets—held across European banks and clearing houses—used to underpin the loan. Under the arrangement, Ukraine would repay the funds either through future reparations paid by Russia or, failing that, through the EU seizing the assets outright.
Belgium, where an estimated €185 billion of these assets is held by the Euroclear securities depository, has voiced strong reservations. Officials in Brussels fear that the country could be left financially liable if Moscow were to challenge the move through international courts.
Insiders say there are also unanswered questions surrounding the emergency legal powers the European Commission intends to invoke to access the funds—an issue that has added to member-state unease.
France is believed to hold the second-largest share of frozen Russian assets in Europe, with around €18 billion sitting in commercial institutions. Yet French officials in Brussels, citing strict confidentiality rules, have refused to disclose to EU counterparts which banks hold the money.
“This is market-sensitive information – the same as if doctors were publicly discussing medical records,” a European Commission spokesman told the FT.
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While it is unclear how these funds are distributed, BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, is understood to be responsible for a significant portion.
The revelations are expected to intensify criticism of President Emmanuel Macron, who has sought to establish himself as one of Europe’s strongest advocates for Ukraine. He is likely to face tough questions from fellow EU leaders at a Brussels summit later this month, which has been billed as the deadline for securing an agreement on Ukraine’s future financing. The standoff underscores the growing challenge of maintaining EU unity as the war drags on and Kyiv’s funding needs become increasingly urgent.
