Belgium rejects EU guarantees on the use of Russian assets for a “reparations loan” to Ukraine
16 December 16:08
Belgian authorities considered the European Commission’s guarantees insufficient to send frozen Russian assets to Ukraine as a “reparations loan,” four European diplomats told Politico after talks on December 15, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to a document seen by the publication, Belgium was offered access to the necessary funding in the event of lawsuits or other retaliatory measures by Russia. In addition, the country was promised EU support, regardless of the financial obligations of individual members of the association. Also, the funds will not be transferred to Ukraine until Brussels officially provides appropriate guarantees.
However, Belgian representatives rejected these proposals because the EU’s commitments do not protect the country from “disproportionate risks.” Belgian officials emphasized that without meeting their demands, Russian funds in Euroclear accounts would not be unblocked. At the same time, the diplomats noted that any attempts to ignore Brussels’ position are “meaningless.” However, one EU official emphasized that there is no alternative to seizing Russian assets to help Ukraine. “We will achieve this. It’s just a matter of time,” the source told Politico.
After the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, the Group of Seven (G7) countries froze the assets of the Bank of Russia for about 300 billion euros. Most of this amount – about 190 billion euros – is held in the accounts of the Belgian depository Euroclear. In early December, the European Commission proposed to allocate €210 billion to help Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. Of this amount, 165 billion should be provided as a “reparations loan” at the expense of Russian assets. To this end, on December 12, the EU countries agreed to freeze these funds indefinitely.
At the same time, the European Central Bank, the IMF, Euroclear, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic opposed the plan to seize assets. They called on the EU to consider alternative loan options for Kyiv, including the issuance of joint debt obligations. Against this backdrop, the Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in the Moscow Arbitration Court, demanding to recover from the 18100000000000 depository RUB 1 billion in damages for freezing its assets.
