Belgium has admitted that frozen Russian assets in Europe will be used “at some point” to finance Ukraine.
This was stated by Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, according to Reuters.
He stressed that Belgium “will not accept any reckless compromises“ until it agrees to a deal on this issue.
Previously, Belgian authorities have repeatedly refused to seize Russian assets and stressed the need to share the risks with the entire European Union.
The majority of Russia's frozen assets in Europe – approximately 200 billion euros – are stored in the Belgian depository Euroclear. Brussels opposes the idea of a “reparation loan“ for Ukraine using these funds, which has been discussed in the EU since September, emphasizing that it is not ready to bear the risks of such a scheme itself. According to Politico, this plan involves the seizure of 25 billion euros of Russian assets from accounts held by private banks in EU countries and 140 billion euros from the Belgian depository Euroclear, where most of these assets are stored.
Euroclear admitted that Moscow's retaliatory measures could lead to the loss of assets in Russia worth 16 billion euros. According to Politico, the Belgian government is demanding that the EU create an additional financial buffer in case of Russian retaliation for the seizure of assets. This would be in addition to the financial guarantees that EU countries will provide to Belgium as part of a €210 billion loan.
In early December, the European Commission approved two financing options for Kiev, one of which is a “reparation loan“. An alternative option is to finance the loan for Kiev through loans from the EU budget. As Politico reported, Hungary has blocked this plan.
The majority of EU countries have agreed to freeze Russian sovereign assets indefinitely, Euractiv has learned. The issue will be discussed on December 18.
The European Central Bank has also spoken out against providing a loan to Kiev with Russian assets.
Moscow has threatened “serious consequences“ if its foreign assets are confiscated. The Kremlin has warned that both countries and individuals will be held legally liable.