Can Europe foot the bill for using Russia’s frozen assets?

At the center of this debate lies approximately 210 billion euros ($246.42 billion) in Russian state assets .... The EU’s financial system has benefited for decades from a reputation for stability, predictability, and political restraint. Sovereign investors from Asia, the Gulf and the Global South have viewed European financial infrastructure as relatively insulated from geopolitical turbulence. The perception that sovereign reserves can be repurposed under political pressure threatens to erode that trust. This is not a hypothetical concern. Efforts to diversify reserves, reduce exposure to Western financial systems and develop alternative clearing mechanisms have been accelerating for years. The frozen...