The European Union's plan to use frozen Russian state assets to finance Ukraine could jeopardize the possibility of reaching a peace agreement to end the nearly four-year war. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever warned this, quoted by Reuters, reports News.bg.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he points out that the hasty move on the scheme for the so-called reparations loans could, as a side effect, lead to a real obstacle to a possible peace process. According to him, the EU risks blocking diplomatic efforts to end the conflict itself.
At the summit last month, EU leaders discussed the possibility of using around 140 billion euros of frozen Russian state assets in Europe as a loan to Kiev. However, no consensus was reached after Belgium refused to support the initiative. A significant part of the funds are stored on its territory.
In an attempt to address Belgian concerns, the European Commission is preparing a draft legal proposal to be presented this week. It will concern the use of frozen assets to assist Ukraine in 2026 and 2027, EU officials said.
In his letter, De Wever also emphasizes that Belgium has not yet received a specific legal formulation from the Commission on the mechanism for using the funds.