Europe 'Secures' Russian Assets, Sanctions Non-Compliant Nations Next?
Friedrich Merz flew to Belgium, according to the Financial Times, to 'secure' a plan to use frozen Russian assets. The EU, giddy over the ~$300 billion in Russian central bank assets, views this as a novel financing mechanism for Ukraine. What the FT omits is Europe’s long, storied history of 'securing' assets from nations deemed inconvenient, disobedient, or simply resource-rich. It’s always
'rule of law' until the rules inconvenience the powerful, isn't it? (Remember when asset seizure was called piracy? Ah, simpler times.) One might wonder if this new precedent will apply universally. Will nations holding U.S. or European assets be able to seize them if they disagree with Washington or Brussels' foreign policy? Or does this novel legal framework only work one way, for certain
powerful players, against certain targeted nations? It appears financial stability is paramount, until it's time to teach a geopolitical lesson. Perhaps we should check historical records for similar 'asset security' measures in, say, colonial contexts? The pattern repeats, just with fancier legal jargon.