According to Valérie Urbain, CEO of the Belgian depository Euroclear, frozen Russian state assets in the EU should be used as leverage to achieve peace in Ukraine, rather than to finance a €165 billion loan in reparations for Kyiv. This is reported by Politico, writes UNN.
At this stage, it would be better to use this money for peace talks than to create an extremely complex and risky legal structure and lose this leverage in negotiations.
As the publication notes, Urbain's comments came after the European Commission's proposal for a reparations loan on Wednesday, two weeks before the EU leaders' summit in Brussels. Ukraine's financial resources are expected to run out in April, and leaders will have to decide whether to use frozen Kremlin funds to ensure Kyiv's survival or to support the war through taxes.
US envoy Steve Witkoff proposed instead to use the same assets for American-led reconstruction projects after a truce.
The US plans to receive "50 percent" of the profits from this activity under the original 28-point peace plan, which was heavily criticized by Europeans for favoring Moscow, and was later replaced by a revised plan — which, it seems, has no support in the Kremlin at all.
The Belgian government, led by Bart De Wever, fears that a reparations loan could provoke Russian retaliation. De Wever demands financial guarantees from EU capitals that can be paid instantly if Moscow tries to recover the funds.
Addition
Euroclear, a Brussels-based depository, also has a direct interest in the negotiations, as it holds most of the frozen Russian assets. Urbain added that the financial risks of tying these assets to a reparations loan are too great. A possible bankruptcy of Euroclear due to this initiative "will affect the attractiveness of the European market" and impact the global financial market.
The Commission stated that its proposals address most of Belgium's and Euroclear's concerns. De Wever is not convinced. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are meeting with the Belgian Prime Minister tonight to try to enlist his support.
Recall
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz canceled his trip to Oslo to persuade Belgium to support a €165 billion "reparations loan" to Ukraine. The loan is proposed to be secured by frozen Russian state assets located in Belgium.