The European Union is unlikely to confiscate Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe, despite G7 plans to discuss the legality of such a move at a meeting in February, senior EU officials said.

European officials are concerned not only with the legality of such an unprecedented confiscation of sovereign assets, but also with the potential consequences for the euro currency; investors might pull out of euro assets out of concern their money might one day be seized too.

In addition, Moscow has pledged it would retaliate by confiscating Western assets in Russia, which some reports put at $288 billion.