Updated

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's legal committee has proposed a mechanism for frozen Russian state assets to be transferred to Ukraine as compensation, tied to rulings by the European Court of Human Rights against Russia. The proposal is part of ongoing European efforts to find a legally sound way to redirect roughly $300 billion in immobilized Russian central bank assets toward Ukraine's reconstruction and defense needs. Separately, the European Union has floated a new proposal for using the frozen assets that aims to address Belgium's specific legal concerns, since much of the money is held in Belgium-based Euroclear and Brussels has resisted moves it fears could expose it to legal liability or retaliation. The new EU proposal represents an attempt to build consensus among member states after months of internal disagreement over the legal risks of seizing or repurposing the assets.