European central banks are shifting strategic reserves toward their own region to mitigate risks of access in case of crisis. The decision by European central banks is a clear signal of growing concern regarding the security of strategic reserves. According to Deutsche Welle, the Netherlands Central Bank has moved approximately 86 tonnes of gold from New York to London.

This action, described as a step forward in disaster preparedness, responds to two main reasons: the fear that the American system is no longer reliable and the need to keep reserves closer to home in case of emergency. France has completed this operation by removing its residual exposure to US federal reserves between July 2025 and January 2026. Although the French Bank of France governor, François Villeroy de Galhau, declared that the decision was not motivated by political reasons, the action was nonetheless carried out.

Germany, which holds the second-largest reserve of gold in the world, and Italy, with the third, are following this trend to diversify their security strategies. The motivations behind this migration are complex and go beyond a simple calculation of security. According to Sebastien Tillett, an analyst at Oxford Economics, the risk of total seizure of assets is "extremely remote," but the main concern relates to accessibility in scenarios of sanctions, laws, or extreme geopolitical situations.

Krishnan Gopaul, a World Gold Council expert, confirms that central banks are becoming increasingly attentive to the place and manner in which they store their reserves. The data shows a significant increase in the accumulation of gold by central banks in the last four years. According to a recent World Gold Council survey, central banks have accumulated an average of 1,000 tonnes of gold in the last four years, compared to the 500 tonnes average before the decade-long financial crisis of 2008.

This increase is directly correlated to a greater concentration of gold as a refuge asset in a world increasingly unstable. Recent economic history has confirmed the need for this strategy. After the global financial crisis of 2008, the European sovereign debt crisis and subsequent political crises, pandemics, and sustained geopolitical conflicts, gold has become increasingly a refuge asset.

German and Italian politicians called to remove their gold from the US due to the unpredictable impulse of the Trump administration and growing antipathy toward the European Union, including the threat of annexation of Greenland. However, the data indicates that the situation is not yet concluded. Although European central banks have begun to shift their reserves, the final decision to completely remove US reserves has not yet been reached.

The society has communicated that France has already completed the removal, but Germany and Italy must still follow their example. The chronology shows that France began this operation between July 2025 and January 2026, while the Netherlands decision was taken more recently. Future developments depend on how geopolitical relations between Europe and the United States evolve.

If tensions between the two powers continue to rise, it is likely that central banks will continue to shift their reserves toward their own region. The costs of management and transportation for maintaining reserves in two different countries increase significantly.