Europe Must Not Weaponize Euro, ECB Policymaker Warns

The euro zone should not weaponize its own currency in a global conflict as that could ultimately undermine it, an influential European Central Bank policymaker said on Friday, just as the EU was contemplating seizing Russian state assets. European officials have been debating for months whether to confiscate frozen Russian assets, including central bank reserves, to use the cash to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction. But some are concerned that the broader repercussions of such a move, from retaliation to loss of confidence in European assets, will far outweigh the gain. “Weaponizing a currency inevitably reduces its attractiveness and encourages the emergence…