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EU to freeze €210bn in Russian assets indefinitely

The EU has agreed to indefinitely freeze Russia’s sovereign assets in the bloc, as Moscow stepped up its threats to retaliate against Euroclear, the keeper of most of the Kremlin’s immobilised money. The decision by the EU to use emergency powers to immobilise €210bn (£185bn) of Russia’s central bank’s assets marks a significant step towards using the cash to aid Ukraine’s defence. European Council president António Costa confirmed on Friday that EU leaders had delivered on a commitment, made in October, to “keep Russian assets immobilised until Russia ends its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused”. Before this step, EU sanctions underpinning the frozen assets needed to be renewed every six months – creating potential for a Kremlin-friendly government, such as Hungary, to veto the move. The decision came hours after Russia’s central bank said it was filing a lawsuit against Euroclear, the Brussels central securities depository that holds these assets. The organisation, once a little-known part of international financial plumbing that is now in the spotlight, has no say on how the frozen funds are used. The lawsuit, being filed in a Moscow court, claims Euroclear’s “illegal actions” had caused “damage” to the central bank’s ability to manage funds and securities. Euroclear declined to comment, but a spokesperson said it was “currently fighting more than 100 legal claims in Russia”. Last week, the European Commission proposed a €90bn (£79bn) loan for Ukraine, secured against Russian assets immobilised in the EU since its full-scale invasion. But the plan has been blocked by Belgium, which fears a cascade of lawsuits from Moscow and the seizure of Belgian assets in the country. Belgium’s prime minister Bart De Wever met Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Friday for long-planned talks on the EU-UK reset, migration and the Russian assets. De Wever’s spokesperson said they had discussed “the possible use of the value of immobilised Russian sovereign assets” and “agreed to continue to work closely to make progress on this complex issue”. A Downing Street spokesperson issued a near-identical statement, saying: “It was clear, they agreed, that keeping up the economic pressure on Russia and putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position would remain the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace.” The meeting comes ahead of an EU summit next week, when leaders have promised decisions on funding Ukraine in 2026-27, amid warnings that Kyiv will run out of money next spring to fund its defence and pay doctors and teachers. EU officials believe the proposed €90bn loan will meet two-thirds of Ukraine’s financial needs for the next two years, and expect Kyiv’s other “international partners” to provide the rest. The Belgian government says it must have guarantees from EU partners that it will not be on the hook for a multibillion-euro bill if it is sued by Russia. De Wever has previously described the proposal as “fundamentally wrong” and argued it would violate international law and endanger the stability of the euro currency. In a sign of tensions around the plan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Malta and Italy said only EU leaders should decide on use of the immobilised assets. In a statement announcing support for the emergency powers clause to freeze the funds indefinitely on Friday, they urged EU countries “to continue exploring and discussing alternative options in line with EU and international law”. Belgium argues the EU should borrow money on capital markets to fund Ukraine, secured against unallocated funds (headroom) in the EU budget. But many member states are loath to take out more common debt. Germany, usually a champion of economic orthodoxy, sees the frozen assets plan as the best option and has pledged to provide one-quarter (€50bn) of needed guarantees for Belgium. EU officials argue that the legal risk to Euroclear, and therefore Belgium, would be limited. Under the complex scheme, the EU would borrow cash from Euroclear, then loan the funds to Ukraine, while Russia remains the legal owner of the assets. Ukraine would only repay the money if and when it received reparations from Moscow for colossal damage inflicted during the war. The UK, which hosts €27bn (£23bn) of frozen Russian assets, supports the idea and expects some, but not all, G7 countries to move forward with a similar plan, following a decision on the Euroclear-held assets. US participation in the scheme is less certain, although it holds only a modest €4bn (£3.5bn) in immobilised assets.

US treasury lifts sanctions on Brazilian judge who presided over Bolsonaro case

The US Department of the Treasury has lifted sanctions imposed on the Brazilian supreme court justice who oversaw the conviction of the former president Jair Bolsonaro. Justice Alexandre de Moraes had been under Global Magnitsky sanctions, which target individuals accused of human rights abuses, since July. His wife Viviane Barci de Moraes – who was added the sanctions list in September – was also removed from the register on Friday. The move had been repeatedly requested by Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in negotiations with Donald Trump to roll back the 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports. The decision is a major setback for Bolsonaro and his congressman son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who left his post in Brazil to lobby in Washington for punitive measures over what he called a “persecution” of his father. Trump imposed the punishment shortly after imposing tariffs on Brazil, justifying it as a response to what he claimed was a “witch-hunt” against Bolsonaro. Eduardo Bolsonaro has alleged that he influenced Trump’s decision. Moraes presided over the trial hearing in September when Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election. Days later, the Magnitsky sanctions were extended to the justice’s wife. Bolsonaro’s supporters had hoped for further retaliation against Brazil, but what followed was an unexpected rapprochement between Trump and Lula. The US president first praised his Brazilian counterpart during the UN general assembly; the two then exchanged calls, held their first in-person meeting, and, in November, Trump removed most of the tariffs. With the sanctions lifted from Moraes and his wife, Eduardo Bolsonaro posted on social media that he “received with regret” the news, while thanking Trump “for the support demonstrated throughout this process and for the attention he gave to the serious crisis of freedoms affecting Brazil”. He added that he will continue “working firmly and resolutely to find a path that allows for the liberation of our country, for as long as necessary and despite adverse circumstances. May God bless America, and may He have mercy on the Brazilian people.” Bolsonaro is already serving his sentence in a special cell at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília. This week, the lower house approved a law that could reduce his time in a closed regime to just over two years. The bill – which still falls short of the full amnesty sought by the far-right leader and his sons – must still pass the senate, where there is also apparent support, before going to Lula; any veto by him would likely be overturned.

Danish intelligence accuses US of using economic power to ‘assert its will’ over allies

Danish intelligence services have accused the US of using its economic power to “assert its will” and threatening military force against its allies. The comments, made in its annual assessment released this week, mark the first time that the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) has listed the US as a threat to the country. Denmark, the report warns, is “facing more and more serious threats and security policy challenges than in many years”. The report said that the US is “now using its economic and technological strength as a means of power, including against allies and partners”. Competition between superpowers Russia, China and the US, it said, is “increasingly taking place in the Arctic”, which is growing in strategic importance amid increasing tensions between Russia and the west. This, it notes, poses a specific threat to Denmark, which used to rule Greenland as a colony and continues to control its foreign and security policy. “The increased great power competition in the Arctic has significantly increased international attention to the region,” it said. “This applies in particular to the United States’ increasing interest in Greenland and its importance to US national security.” It adds: “At the same time, the attention increases the threat from espionage, including cyber espionage, and attempts to further influence all parts of the kingdom of Denmark.” Greenland remains part of the Danish commonwealth or kingdom. Last week, the new US National Security Strategy policy document, with an introduction signed by Trump, claimed that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” within the next two decades as a result of migration and EU integration, arguing that the US must “cultivate resistance” within the continent to “Europe’s current trajectory”. It came at a time of already heightened tension between the US and Denmark after Trump’s repeated assertions over the past year that he wants to take control of Greenland. Earlier this year, vice-president JD Vance visited US military base Pituffik and accused Denmark of having “not done a good job” in Greenland. In August, an alleged US influence campaign in Greenland resulted in Denmark summoning the US charge d’affaires. In a damning symbol of the changed dynamic between Denmark and the US, traditionally its largest and most important ally, it was recently revealed that Copenhagen had established a “night watch” tasked with monitoring Trump’s unpredictable words and actions while Denmark sleeps. Despite the report’s warnings, the head of the DDIS, Thomas Ahrenkiel, said that the US was still Denmark’s closest ally. “The United States has been and continues to be the guarantor of Europe’s security through its involvement in the transatlantic alliance, its presence in Europe and through the American nuclear umbrella,” he told broadcaster DR. “The United States is leveraging economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to assert its will, and the possibility of employing military force – even against allies – is no longer ruled out,” the report said. It also warns of the uncertainty around the role of the US as a “guarantor of European security”, which it said will increase Russia’s “willingness to intensify its hybrid attacks against Nato”. It adds: “The military threat from Russia to Nato will increase, even though there is currently no threat of a regular military attack against the kingdom of Denmark.”

The importance of Europe in curbing Russia’s might | Letters

I wholly support the plea to Europe by Timothy Garton Ash (Only Europe can save Ukraine from Putin and Trump – but will it?, 6 December). One aspect he did not mention was the strategic nuclear balance. Since the late 1940s, responsibility for deterrence has always lain with the Pentagon and has succeeded in keeping the peace, though at times a very fragile version of it. The recent US statement on defence makes it clear that Europe is no longer seen as a priority by the Trump administration, the danger now being that doubt is crucially being raised as to the credibility of Nato’s deterrent. Without certainty of a reaction in kind, Russia, under its ambitious and risk-taking president, might be tempted to chance its arm in what almost looks like a ceding of Europe by the US into a Russian “sphere of influence”. If Vladimir Putin triumphs in Ukraine, the future of the Baltic states will probably move up Putin’s agenda – and after that, who knows? In the 1930s, Europe ignored a clear existential threat, and millions paid for it. Europe has to realise that its superior economic and military potential has to be mobilised to secure not just the future of Ukraine, but the stability of Europe. Bill Jones Honorary professor of political studies, Liverpool Hope University • The suggestion by Timothy Garton Ash that Belgium is acting egotistically in resisting the seizure of Russian assets is somewhat harsh. The potential financial liability in the unlikely event of an adverse international legal ruling at some future date would virtually bankrupt the country. Surely it is the resistance of the other EU countries in sharing this liability that is the problem. Robin Wilson London • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

Belgian PM meets Starmer in London as debate continues on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine – as it happened

The Guardian’s live coverage of the day’s top stories from Europe is coming to a close. Here are today’s key events: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Berlin on Monday for talks on bilateral relations and peace negotiations over the war. Zelenskyy and Germany’s Friederich Merz will be joined by “many European heads of state and government” and top representatives of the EU and Nato for further discussions, its statement said. Ukraine would be slated to join the European Union by 1 January 2027 under a peace proposal being discussed as part of US-mediated negotiations to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelenskyy has been under immense pressure from Donald Trump to sign up to the US peace plan, but questions remain about the fairness of the proposals and whether Russia is actually interested in peace. Belgium’s prime minister Bart De Wever is at 10 Downing Street for bilateral talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. The pair are talking migration, security and economy, among other things, but obviously they will also touch upon the ongoing debate about the use of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine … The plan has been blocked by Belgium, which hosts €185bn of the immobilised assets at the Euroclear central securities depository in Brussels. The Belgian government says it must have guarantees from EU partners that it will not be on the hook for a multi-billion euro bill if it is successfully sued by Russia. De Wever has described the idea as “fundamentally wrong” and argued it would violate international law and endanger the stability of the euro currency. German chancellor Merz said he “supported” the widely expected softening of the 2035 ban on new petrol or diesel cars, having advocated strongly for changes to the rules on the end of the combustion engine for months. “The reality is that there will still be millions of combustion engine based cars around the world in 2035, 2040 and 2050,” he said. EU member states have agreed to introduce a €3 customs duty per item on parcels valued under €150. The move, which will apply from July next year, is designed to curb the impact of cheap goods coming in from China via online platforms such as Temu and Shein.

Nobel peace prize laureate Narges Mohammadi arrested in Iran

There are fears for the wellbeing of the 2023 Nobel peace prize winner, Narges Mohammadi, after she was detained by Iranian security forces at a memorial ceremony for a human rights lawyer in the eastern city of Mashhad. Mohammadi, 53, who was granted temporary leave from prison on medical grounds in December 2024, was newly detained along with several other activists at the memorial for Khosro Alikordi, who was found dead in his office last week. Mohammadi’s brother Mehdi, who was present at the ceremony, confirmed her arrest, her foundation said. Speaking to the Guardian, a member of Mohammadi’s team who requested anonymity said: “Her arrest earlier today appears directly linked to her public remarks in Mashhad following Khosro Alikordi’s suspicious death. At his memorial, human rights activists gathered to protest against what they view as a suspicious and potentially state-linked killing.” Officials in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province said Alikordi suffered a heart attack, but a tightening security crackdown that coincided with his death has raised questions about its circumstances. More than 80 lawyers have signed a statement demanding more information. “Alikordi was a prominent figure among Iran’s community of human rights defenders,” the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said on Thursday. “Over the past several years, he had been repeatedly arrested, harassed and threatened by security and judicial forces.” Mohammadi’s family members said security and police forces used teargas and violence to disperse people who had gathered for Alikordi’s memorial. Speaking from Paris, Mohammadi’s husband, Taghi Rahmani, told the Guardian he was worried not only for his wife but also for the other rights activists arrested at the same time. Rahmani described the arrest as part of an escalating strategy by the Iranian authorities to suppress dissent. “This is a targeted attack on democracy and the right to freedom of expression,” he said. Mohammadi’s children, Ali and Kiana, said they were also worried for their mother and the other activists. “She had a surgery just a year ago and many others arrested have also been fighting medical conditions,” Ali told the Guardian. “She was arrested two hours ago and we still don’t know where my mother is. “These people don’t belong in the prison.” Footage from the memorial ceremony showed Mohammadi at a microphone, calling out to the crowd and starting a chant in the name of Majidreza Rahnavard, who was publicly hanged by the Iranian authorities in 2022. There was no immediate comment from Iran over its detention of Mohammadi and it was not clear whether authorities would return her to prison to serve the rest of her term. Supporters had cautioned for months she was at risk of being put back in jail. Hasan Hosseini, the city governor of Mashhad, said prosecutors ordered security officials to temporarily detain some participants at the ceremony over the chanting of “norm-breaking” slogans, Iranian state television reported. Hosseini described the detentions as preventive to protect those there from others in the crowd. Before her release last December, Mohammadi had been imprisoned since November 2021 for convictions relating to her campaign against capital punishment and the obligation for women in Iran to wear the hijab. Her supporters say she suffered multiple heart attacks in prison before undergoing emergency surgery in 2022. Late last year, her lawyer said doctors had found a bone lesion they feared could be cancerous and which was later removed. “Her health could deteriorate very quickly under these conditions,” Rahmani said. “The repression inside the mosque today was carried out with extreme brutality. Teargas was fired, and Narges and other activists were beaten even though they have serious health issues.” Mohammadi’s sentence was supposed to be suspended for three weeks when she was released last year, but her time out of prison lengthened, possibly because of pressure from activists and western powers. She remained free even during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. She kept up her activism with public protests and international media appearances, including demonstrating at one point in front of Evin prison, the notorious facility in Tehran where she was held. Chirinne Ardakani, Mohammadi’s Paris-based lawyer, said: “I am calling for the immediate release of my client, as well as of all the human rights activists who have been arbitrarily detained alongside her. I also reiterate my client’s demand that truth and justice be established regarding the suspicious circumstances surrounding Alikordi’s death, for which we have reason to believe the state bears responsibility.” Mohammadi’s family said they did not know in whose custody she was being held, with Ali adding: “My mother could be in the custody of the Revolutionary Guards or the security forces or police. We don’t know anything.” Rahmani said: “We urge the western media to continue following events in Iran and to please keep reporting.” Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

Canada’s Liberals edge closer to majority after Conservative lawmaker crosses floor

Canada’s ruling Liberals have edged closer to a majority government after a Conservative lawmaker crossed the floor, in yet another blow to the struggling Tories. Rookie lawmaker Michael Ma said late on Thursday that he had decided to leave the Conservative party, for “the steady, practical approach” of prime minister Mark Carney’s government, which he said would “deliver on the priorities I hear every day, including affordability and the economy”. He added: “After listening carefully to the people of Markham–Unionville in recent weeks and reflecting with my family on the direction of our country, I have informed the speaker and the leader of the opposition that I will be joining Prime Minister Mark Carney in the government caucus. This is a time for unity and decisive action for Canada’s future.” Ma made the announcement the day after attending the Conservative Christmas party and posing for a photo with Tory leader Pierre Poilievre. He then attended a party hosted by the Liberals the next evening, appearing on stage with Carney to raucous applause. The Liberals now have 171 seats in parliament: one short of a majority. In a statement on social media, Poilievere said Ma “chose to endorse the very policies he was elected to oppose” and would join a party that was increasing the cost of living. “The people he let down the most are the ones who elected him to fight for an affordable future. He will have to answer to them.” The crossing will sting the Conservatives, who have now lost three lawmakers. One crossed to the Liberals in November and another said he would resign in the coming months. On Friday, government house leader Stephen MacKinnon said he believed there were more frustrated opposition members who might be tempted to defect to the Liberals. “All of my colleagues here have the same experience of speaking to Conservative members, unfortunately a group which is in the minority in their group, who are extremely frustrated with the leadership of their party,” he said during a press conference, adding members were forced to participate in a “charade of obstruction” in order to oppose the Liberals that is “soul-destroying experience for many Conservative[s]”. While the addition of a new member to caucus has buoyed Liberals, Carney has faced discontent within his own party. Earlier this month, a prominent cabinet minister, Steven Guilbeault, resigned from his post, protesting Carney’s decision to support a controversial oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean. Guilbeault, a longtime environmental advocate, warned the pipeline to the west coast “would have major environmental impacts … contribute to a significant increase in climate pollution, and move Canada further away from its greenhouse gas reduction targets”. Guibeault warned that lifting the moratorium on oil tanker traffic would significantly increase the risk of accidents in the region.

‘What is going on here?’ Meloni celebrated at Italy’s far-right Atreju Christmas festival

When, out of curiosity, Leila Cader and her friends entered the gardens surrounding Castel Sant’Angelo, a prominent Rome monument that once served as a refuge for popes during times of war, they thought they’d chanced upon an enchanting winter wonderland. With the scent of mulled wine wafting through the air, Santa’s elves wandering around, stalls selling nativity-scene figurines and skaters merrily gliding on an ice-rink, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas. That was until they got to the “bullometro”, or “bullyometer”, a long blue billboard featuring cut-out faces of various people, and twigged that something was amiss. Cader, an American on an internship in Rome, and her friends had found themselves at Atreju, an annual week-long festival organised by Brothers of Italy, the far-right party of the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. The billboard says the bullometro rates “the hateful comments” leftwing opponents have directed at Meloni’s government, with the contenders receiving one for “originality” and 10 for “spite”. Critics include Maurizio Landini, a trade union boss and thorn in the government’s side who caused controversy recently after referring to Meloni as “Trump’s courtesan”, and the Placebo frontman Brian Molko, who was charged with defaming the prime minister after appearing to call her a “piece of shit, fascist, racist” in Italian while performing at a festival in Turin in 2023. But the image that caught Cader’s eye was an upside-down picture of Charlie Kirk, the US far-right activist and ally of Donald Trump who was assassinated in September, which drew Meloni’s wrath when it was posted online by an Italian student movement in the wake of his killing. The image, captioned “one less, today is less dark”, echoes the death of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who was killed by partisans before being hung by his feet from scaffolding at a Milan gas station. By contrast, Kirk was celebrated by Brothers of Italy on “the pantheon”, a billboard on the opposite side of the gardens representing historical figures whom the party considers strong and powerful. “What is going on here?” asked Cader. “We had no idea it was political. We were planning to do some ice-skating but don’t want to give our money to this event.” Atreju, named after the heroic character in the fantasy novel The NeverEnding Story, began in 1998 as a platform for debate among the youth wing of the National Alliance, the neo-fascist party that later morphed into Brothers of Italy. The festival has since evolved, especially in the three years since Meloni came to power, to embrace an unusual mix of politicians of all stripes, Catholic priests, nuns, magistrates and celebrities. In the past it has hosted Steve Bannon, Elon Musk and Rishi Sunak, while this year’s lineup includes European far-right politicians such as France’s Marion Maréchal and Romania’s George Simion. At the opposite end of the political spectrum are the former Italian prime ministers Matteo Renzi and Giuseppe Conte, and Roberto Fico, the recently elected president of the Campania region. “Even if we have political differences, it’s important to debate,” Fico told the Guardian while perusing the Christmas stalls. But more than a talking shop, Atreju – which this year goes by the slogan “you became strong … Italy with its head held high” – is an opportunity for Meloni to flaunt her power. A video reel close to the entrance aimed at boasting Meloni’s credentials on the international stage shows her shaking hands with Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, and meeting Trump at the White House. “Meloni is strong, determined and elegant,” said Pina, who was at the festival with her husband, Pino, who in turn chipped in: “She’s out of this league.” The couple, who did not want to give their surname, are from Rome and said they voted for the left “many years ago”. But, they said, it was something they now regretted. They credited Meloni for boosting their pensions and generally “getting things done”, citing a scheme to repatriate migrants via centres in Albania, even though it has so far failed. Getting tough on crime was also a key Meloni pledge. Enrica Ciardo, a chef, was invited to the event and was managing a stall selling traditional Italian produce. She said she was apolitical, but appreciated the support Italy’s leadership showed when her restaurant in Puglia was the target of bomb threats by the mafia, adding that Meloni’s sister Arianna – a central figure within the management of Brothers of Italy – had visited her. “We’re here to represent legality and make people realise that you need to report criminal incidents and be on the side of the state and not the mafia,” said Ciardo. Atreju, which ends with a speech by Meloni on Sunday, is taking place during the same week Italy’s civic health rating was downgraded to “obstructed” by Civicus, a non-profit that monitors civic freedoms in 198 countries. The downgrade was provoked by factors including the government’s security bill, which ramped up penalties for non-violent protest and expanded police powers, and the alleged state-sanctioned spying of critics. France and Germany were also downgraded amid a global trend in the erosion of civil rights. With the Christmas hit It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year playing on the Brothers of Italy radio, a discussion about education in a small marquee tent became heated when Anna Maria Bernini, the minister for university and research, was heckled by a group of students protesting against a reform. She invited them to debate “for a few minutes” before berating them as “poor communists”. Security then removed the students and called the police. Staff from the Brothers of Italy press office have also kept a close watch over journalists visiting Atreju. Sofia Ventura, a politics professor at the University of Bologna, said the festival was “there to remind us that Meloni always returns to her roots”, while Francesco Galietti, the founder of Policy Sonar, a political consultancy in Rome, described it as “Meloni’s own Woodstock”, adding that it provided a useful platform to show herself as “the great convener”. “Her party has long been accused of being into faction wars, and that’s still the case, of course,” Galietti added. “But she wants to show that despite all differences, some sort of dialogue can take place, at least once a year.” Close to a huge Christmas tree decorated in the colours of the Italian flag was a cut-out of Meloni mocking her “communist” opponents.