Europe Nears Agreement on Russia's SWIFT Expulsion

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Western countries appear to be reaching a consensus to expel Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

According to dpa news agency on the 26th (local time), the United States and European countries are expected to agree on blocking Russia from SWIFT by this weekend.

The agency reported, "Leaders of Germany, the United States, France, Italy, and the European Union (EU) are scheduled to hold a video conference regarding this matter."

European foreign ministers are also expected to discuss the expulsion from SWIFT during a video conference on the 27th.

Earlier, a central bank governor from a Eurozone country reportedly said that a decision on SWIFT sanctions would be made within a few days, according to major foreign media.

He stated, "If asked whether this is enough, the answer is 'no,' but if asked whether it is essential, the answer is absolutely 'yes.' Sanctions only work when both sides pay a cost and the cost is significant."

A spokesperson from the French presidential office said that discussions among EU member states regarding SWIFT are approaching a successful conclusion.

Ingrida ?imonyt?, Prime Minister of Lithuania, said, "From what I have heard, there seems to be no strong opposition anymore."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, announced that all European countries have agreed to block Russia from the SWIFT payment system.

According to RIA Novosti, President Zelenskyy said in a video speech that "Our diplomats have worked hard to ensure that all European countries decide to exclude Russia from SWIFT, and now we have achieved victory," adding, "This will cause tremendous damage to Russia."

The previous day, EU finance ministers held an informal meeting in Paris, France, to discuss measures such as expelling Russia from SWIFT, but no conclusion was reached due to differing positions among countries.

While the United Kingdom and others strongly advocate for this, Germany and Italy, which have high dependence on Russian energy, are reportedly passive due to concerns about the impact on their own economies. However, changes in the stance of these countries are also emerging.

Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy, reportedly told Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a phone call that "I fully support the EU sanctions route, including sanctions within the SWIFT framework."

German foreign and finance ministers said in a joint statement that they prefer to set targets and regulate SWIFT functionally.

The German ministers explained that they are urgently working on measures to limit collateral damage by ensuring that only the exact targets are affected.

CNN reported, "U.S. President Joe Biden has also seriously weighed excluding Russia from SWIFT as one of the sanction measures he has repeatedly promised."

According to CNN, U.S. government officials are continuing to review options, including expelling individual banks and organizations from SWIFT instead of targeting the entire Russian economy, along with EU countries.

SWIFT is a computer network used by over 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries, necessary for cross-border money transactions.

Being blocked from SWIFT makes it nearly impossible to send and receive money with overseas financial institutions, making it the most feared sanction from Russia's perspective.

However, if this happens, it could also cause significant economic damage to Europe, which has been trading with Russia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.