Belgium criticizes EU plan

The Belgian prime minister wrote a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Euractiv reports.

De Wever noted that such a scheme for using frozen Russian assets is “fundamentally wrong” and could put Belgium in a vulnerable position.

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This proposal could damage the reputation of Euroclear, the Brussels-based securities depository that holds Russian assets.

“It would be unfair and dishonest to expect that, although the benefits of such a scheme would be for everyone, the costs and risks would be borne by Belgium,” the prime minister wrote.

The Belgian prime minister said he was surprised by the EU leaders' complete lack of understanding of the legal and financial risks.

According to him, the European Commission has not yet presented a single draft legal text, and the document with options recently provided to the capitals does not take Belgium's concerns into account.

De Wever noted that this plan could encourage investors to sell EU bonds or withdraw funds from Euroclear and other European institutions, increasing systemic risks and potentially destabilizing the euro.

The Belgian prime minister reiterated his conditions: EU countries must immediately and collectively provide liquidity to cover the amount held in Euroclear in the event of the lifting of sanctions against Moscow, share the burden of potential legal challenges, and other Western countries holding Russian assets must commit to similar arrangements.

As an alternative, he called on EU countries to prioritize unspent funds from the current seven-year budget.

“The hasty implementation of the proposed reparations loan scheme will have the side effect of us, as the EU, effectively hindering the achievement of a final peace agreement,” De Wever stressed.

He added that the EU must choose between keeping the assets frozen until the end of the war to support reconstruction or using them now to finance Ukraine's military efforts — but not both.

Photo: diplomatie.belgium.be.

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