France and Germany fear confiscation of russian assets

France, Germany, and the European Central Bank are cautious about the possibility of confiscating russian assets frozen in Western countries.

They fear russia's retaliatory actions against European assets, as well as the impact on financial stability and the euro's status as a reserve currency.

Another reason for this position on asset confiscation is that such a radical step would set a precedent and encourage other countries not to keep their reserves in Western currencies in case they are one day subjected to similar sanctions.

As a reminder, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire recently said after a meeting with his G7 counterparts that there is no legal basis for confiscating russian assets.

Source: Bloomberg