Belgium has blocked a sophisticated European Commission plan to mobilize frozen Russian assets without confiscating them, to grant a 140 billion euro loan to Ukraine. This decision, made at a summit in Brussels, is postponed to December due to Belgian concerns. The European Union is thus seeking to offset the end of US support under Donald Trump.
Belgium, a small European country and host to EU institutions, finds itself at the heart of a complex political, legal, and financial tangle regarding aid to Ukraine. After Donald Trump's decision to end US support, and with European coffers empty, the European Union has decided to break a taboo in place since the start of the war: the use of frozen Russian assets.
At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Belgium voiced strong concerns about the plan proposed by the European Commission. This mechanism aims to mobilize Russian assets frozen in the country without formal confiscation, to create a 'reparations loan' of 140 billion euros for Kyiv. As a result, formal adoption by the Twenty-Seven was blocked, and the decision postponed to December.
Around 200 billion euros in reserves from Russia's Central Bank are immobilized in the vaults of Euroclear, a financial services company based in Brussels. These funds have been frozen since February 2022 as part of sanctions against Moscow, renewed every six months unanimously by member states. A first step was taken last year with the use of profits generated by these assets, estimated at 3 to 4 billion dollars annually.
Belgium's blockage highlights the legal and political challenges surrounding this measure, as Europe seeks to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.