The EU’s sanctions paradox: frozen Russian assets and EU Bilateral Investment Treaties

Mr Petras Auštrevičius is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and a member of the European Parliament (EP) since 2014 (re-elected in 2019 and 2024). He serves as a full member on the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Security and Defence (SEDE), among other. He is the shadow rapporteur on Ukraine for his political group, Renew Europe. He also leads the Friends of European Ukraine group, which unites MEPs who are active in their work and support for Ukraine. In 2022, a few months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Second Degree by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in recognition of his dedicated work. From 2001 to 2002, he was a Chief Negotiator for Lithuania’s membership to the European Union. Mr Auštrevičius is a co-founder and first chairman of the Liberals Movement of the Republic of Lithuania.

Myroslava Gongadze is a journalist and foreign policy expert specialising in Eastern European security, democratic resilience and strategic communications. As the first Eastern Europe Bureau chief for Voice of America (VOA), she directed coverage across frontline states and oversaw multimedia reporting on Russia’s war against Ukraine and its global consequences. Previously, as chief of VOA’s Ukrainian service in Washington, she transformed the service into a leading source of US news and policy analysis for millions of Ukrainian viewers.

Lukas Schaugg is a Policy Advisor with the Economic Law and Policy programme at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Schaugg’s work focuses on the reform of international investment governance. He advises governments on investment treaties, national investment laws, and investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS), and follows reform processes at UNCITRAL, the OECD, and in relation to the Energy Charter Treaty. He holds a PhD in Law from York University and an LLM from King’s College London.

Dirk Schuebel is the Head of Division for Russia at the European External Action Service. From September 2022 until July 2024 he worked as the EU’s Special Envoy for the Eastern Partnership. Prior to that, he headed the EU’s Delegation in Belarus for three years. Schuebel served as Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova from 2009 to 2013 which followed a diplomatic posting as Head of the Political, Press and Information Section at the EU Delegation to Ukraine and Belarus in Kyiv from early 2006 to 2009. Schuebel has previously held various positions within the European Commission and the German Foreign Ministry going back to 1993. In his time at the European institutions, he worked at the Commission’s DG Energy and Transport, DG Enlargement and DG Trade.

Mikola Yurlov is Counsellor in the Department of International Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine where he is currently working on the international compensation mechanism, representing Ukraine in the Conference of Participants of the Register of Damage and negotiating the Convention Establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine. Yurlov is also involved in the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and in efforts concerning the transfer of immobilized assets of the Russian Central Bank. Prior to this, Yurlov served as Counsel to the Minister and Deputy Director of the International Law Department at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, where he led the International Disputes and Damage Compensation Units; investigated war crimes and advised law enforcement as Senior Legal Advisor at Truth Hounds; and acted as Legal & Policy Advisor for Geneva Call in Ukraine, among others. Notably, Yurlov represented Ukraine in investor-state arbitrations, commercial arbitrations and cross-border disputes and negotiated the Agreement on a Centennial Partnership, a landmark 100-year pact signed by Ukraine and the United Kingdom in January 2025.