In recent months, several key processes have been taking place in Europe. One of the most discussed was the debate in October regarding the funds in the Euroclear system - a Belgian institution that manages large volumes of securities, funds and bonds. The frozen Russian assets have matured, which have now been converted into cash and transferred to the European Central Bank. Euroclear is responsible for their storage. This was announced to Lili Marinkova in the studio „FACTI“ and the program „Conversation“ by Peter Klisarov, leader of the „Direct Democracy“ party.
„The Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart de Wever, clearly stated that Russia has issued a warning - if the funds are used, the consequences for Belgium will be very “extreme“. He commented that “infinity“ is too long a period to be perceived as a threat. Together with Christine Lagarde, he explained to European leaders that the decision on what to do with this money can only be made collectively, by all member states. If lawsuits follow over the Russian frozen money, they will affect the entire European Union, and in double the amount. As an example, a case was cited with a Russian oligarch who has already condemned institutions for 8 billion, and the amount with interest on him reaches 15 billion“, Klisarov added.
“Currently, the EU and the so-called “coalition of the willing“ are discussing an option for the frozen funds to be used as collateral for financing Ukraine, and after the end of the war to be covered through future reparations. This assumption is based on the idea that Russia must lose the war in order for there to be legal logic such mechanism“, the guest also shared.
According to Klisarov, part of the accrued interest on the frozen assets has already been absorbed — a significant part is directed to Belgium, other amounts — to Ukraine.
„All this will have potential consequences for Bulgaria as well. At the next meeting of the European Council, scheduled for around December 18, a decision is expected on how Europe will use these funds. Bulgarians should be aware of what may follow. Bulgaria participates in the coalition, while countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – do not. According to forecasts for our country, the potential financial commitment could be between 1 and 4 billion leva – depending on the amount of funds that will be transferred. If we add to this the planned increase in contributions to the EU by about 4 billion for defense, plus an additional about 1 billion for infrastructure repairs, the total burden could reach 10 billion euros – an amount that is explained within the framework of the state budget as a possible deficit. Events are developing dynamically“, the guest also revealed.
“Jens Stoltenberg – known to everyone from his position as former NATO Secretary General – currently holds the post of Finance Minister of Norway, a country with a huge pension fund and stable budget surpluses. The fund is used strategically for investments in the future. According to comments, the possibility of directing part of its funds to finance Ukraine is being discussed - an amount estimated at around 140 billion annually. The European Union is also interested in Norwegian funds. The President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, gave a press conference at which he announced that they would continue to support Ukraine militarily and economically. Finland has already provided 30 aid packages. With the Baltic states, through a new project, probably called “Pearl”, another 100 million euros in emergency support have been collected. Stubb said that Putin believes that he can exhaust Europe by sending new and new soldiers, but this is a wrong expectation. He even blurted out to say openly: “We are with Ukraine against Russia.“ In this way, he practically admitted that the European Union is involved in the conflict“, said Petar Klisarov.