Belgium Prime Minister Bart De Wever has one before the start EU summit in Brussels reiterated his demand that his country needed more support from its EU partners in view of the frozen Russian assets. Belgium cannot take on this risk and the associated responsibility alone, said De Wever.
“Belgium demands that the EU takes full financial responsibility for the risk,” said de Wever. He added that he had “not yet seen a text that Belgium can accept,” with a view to the upcoming negotiations. At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility that a proposal with which he agreed would come about during the summit meeting.
The EU has Russian assets in the country following the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago Value of more than 200 billion euros frozen. For months, member states have been discussing whether and how the money can be made available to Ukraine for its defense against Russia. A solution should be found at the summit.
The majority of Russia’s assets are in Belgium
Belgium in particular has so far shown reluctance, as the financial services company Euroclear is based there and manages a large part of the frozen assets. The country fears that Russia could successfully sue Belgium or Euroclear. In such a case, there could be high claims for damages.
Hungary was even more critical. The idea that the European Union would use frozen Russian assets, mostly in Brussels, to finance the Ukraine uses, has “died,” said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Financing Ukraine through a common EU loan for Hungary is unacceptable.
“We will not leave the EU summit without a solution”
Meanwhile, other politicians are pushing to find a solution. “We will not leave the EU summit without a solution for financing Ukraine,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the summit began. At the same time, she showed understanding for Belgium’s demands and referred to a “principle of solidarity” among the EU countries. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) also showed understanding for Belgian concerns. However, he hopes to be able to “clear these out together” and “show a sign of strength and determination towards Russia,” he said. He doesn’t see a better option and it is his impression that “we can come to a result.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also saw the event earlier not a particularly big legal risk for the community of states. “The current proposal has a solid legal basis,” said Kallas. In her home country of Estonia, people are used to threats from Russia, said Kallas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also wants to travel to Brussels to personally campaign for the release of the money. After almost four years of financial support for Ukraine and in view of empty budgets, numerous EU countries are in favor of this option, especially Germany.
Central bank files lawsuit
Belgium’s concerns are not unfounded. The Russian Central Bank has already announced that it considers the EU’s plans to use frozen Russian assets to be illegal. Russia therefore reserves the right to use all available legal and political means to protect its interests. In this context, the Russian central bank filed a lawsuit in Moscow this week demanding around $230 billion in damages from the Belgian financial settlement agency Euroclear.
