So far, Russian assets worth 13.8 billion euros have been frozen in the European Union.

As EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders announced after a meeting of EU justice ministers in Prague on Tuesday, 12.6 billion of this is attributable to just six member states.

These include Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

He urged member states to provide more information about their national asset freezing rules.

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

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The sum cited by Reynders has increased only slightly since May.

It is far below the magnitude that is being discussed by the Ukrainian side for the reconstruction of the country.

At a conference in Lugano last week, Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal put Ukrainian assets at between $300 million and $500 million, without giving any details.

In addition, frozen assets may only be confiscated in the European Union if a criminal offense has been committed and a court has ordered this.

The EU Commission therefore proposed in May to make the evasion of sanctions a new Europe-wide criminal offense and then to issue common application regulations for all member states.

Reynders said in Prague that there is now a consensus among the member states.

He will initiate the relevant legislative process in October.

In addition, a directive from 2014 on the confiscation of assets is to be expanded.

Bushman: Comply with property protection

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann signaled support for Germany after the federal government had initially reacted skeptically to the Commission's initiative.

You have to be “assertive”, but at the same time “comply with the strict principles of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on the protection of property”, Buschmann specified.

The FDP politician, who received his doctorate on this topic, explained that under European law and the law of most member states, expropriations as such are subject to compensation.

"It wouldn't do any good if we took the boat away from an oligarch and had to pay money for it as compensation."

With a new criminal offense involving evasion of sanctions, the devil is in the details.

An owner may continue to use his yacht or home for his own purposes, only selling or renting it to others is subject to sanctions.

It is disputed whether the mere transfer of a ship to a "safe port" outside the EU is punishable.

States like Italy have pre-emptively confiscated ships, while others have not.

So far, only three properties and a bank account belonging to a sanctioned Duma deputy and his wife have been confiscated in Germany.

Both achieved rental income of 3,500 euros a month with the blocked assets.