ABSTRACT – This blog analyses Regulation 2025/2600 on the “indefinite freezing” of Russian assets, focusing on the use of the legal basis deployed for its adoption. Indeed, Article 122(1) TFEU proves to be the real “emergency clause” within EU law, which even today is deeply influenced by the ancient interpretation of its precursor (Art. 103 TEEC on conjunctural policy) by the Court of Justice. Against this backdrop, this blog addresses the questions of the Council’s discretion in Article 122(1) TFEU and of the material scope of the provision, carved in Title VIII of TFEU devoted to the coordination of Member States’ economic policies. This latter issue is the most puzzling as the case of Regulation 2025/2600 demonstrates: what is the perimeter of Member States’ coordination of economic policies?
