Belgium has once again refused to support the use of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Belgium’s Defense Minister said that the country would not support the use of frozen Russian assets. The EU plans to discuss the issue next week.
Belgium opposed a new attempt to use around €200 billion in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, despite calls from a number of EU countries to revisit the idea. Euractiv reports this, citing Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken, writes UNN.
Details
This issue is not up for discussion; the door is closed
According to him, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever will remain steadfast on this issue.
This week, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands and Spain called on the European Commission to examine new mechanisms for mobilizing frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. Most of them are held at the Belgian depository Euroclear.
Belgium fears legal and financial risks
Back in December, Belgium blocked progress on the proposed €210 billion “reparations loan” for Ukraine. Brussels feared that such a scheme could create significant legal and financial risks for the country, as well as lead to retaliatory measures by Russia.
Francken also criticized the Baltic countries, which actively support the use of Russian assets.
They should also be careful not to keep raising this issue and backing us into a corner. I do not think that is wise
At the same time, the position within the Belgian government does not appear to be completely unanimous. Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot had previously allowed for the possibility of using the blocked assets provided that legal responsibility was fairly distributed among EU countries. European foreign ministers plan to discuss the issue again next week in Ireland.
EU wants to revive a plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine – FT27.08.26, 12:14 • 33516 views