Russia's Central Bank Sues European Union Over 210 Billion Euros in Frozen Assets

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has taken a radical legal step, challenging before the EU's court of justice the decision to freeze its foreign currency and gold reserves. The amount in dispute is colossal and amounts to approximately 210 billion euros, representing the lion's share of Russian assets immobilized in Western countries following the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian side argues that the sanctions imposed by Brussels violate property rights and international standards of state immunity. The European Commission, however, expressed confidence in the solid legal basis of its actions, emphasizing that the asset freeze mechanism is compliant with treaties and constitutes a necessary response to military aggression. Simultaneously, media in Germany report on the decreasing effectiveness of sanctions due to administrative court rulings, which in some cases order the unblocking of funds for smaller entities. Following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the European Union introduced the first restrictions, but only the full-scale invasion in 2022 led to unprecedented financial isolation of Russia, including its disconnection from the SWIFT system. Meanwhile, in the United States, the administration of President Donald Trump is grappling with legal chaos caused by new customs tariffs. Entrepreneurs are mass-filing lawsuits demanding refunds of overpaid funds, leveraging last year's victories before the Supreme Court, which challenged some mechanisms for imposing tariffs under emergency powers. Businesses complain of extreme trade uncertainty, which hampers long-term planning and destabilizes supply chains. Lawyers representing import companies claim that the new regulations from the White House are as flawed as those previously overturned by the judiciary. This highlights a structural conflict between the government's protectionist vision and the principles of free trade protected by the US Constitution. The United States Court of International Trade (USCIT) is a specialized federal court that has for decades resolved disputes concerning tariffs and dumping, now becoming the center of business resistance against Washington's trade policy. In Central Europe, particularly in Germany, another legal problem related to migration policy is intensifying. Statistics show that the number of complaints against rejected asylum applications has doubled in just two years. Over 500 Afghan citizens have initiated legal proceedings against the suspension of admission programs, forcing courts to adjudicate between the state's humanitarian obligations and the real infrastructural capacities of municipalities. This situation calls into question the coherence of the EU asylum system and the public administration's ability to efficiently process appeals, which in turn generates enormous costs for the federal budget. „Мы будем защищать наши интересы всеми возможными законными методами, используя все доступные международные форумы.” (We will defend our interests by all possible legal means, using all available international forums.) — Kremlin Spokesperson