Prime Minister Bart De Wever insists all bloc members must share financial risks of proposed “reparation loan”
Belgium will not support the European Union’s plan to use frozen Russian sovereign assets as collateral for a massive loan to Ukraine unless financial risks are shared among all member states, Prime Minister Bart De Wever said.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s EU leaders’ summit in Brussels, De Wever reaffirmed his government’s opposition to the plan, pledging “Do everything in my power” block it unless collective risk sharing guarantees are provided.
The European Commission is promoting a plan to raise around 140 billion euros ($160 billion) for kyiv, arguing that the money could be recovered later from Moscow as “compensation.”Belgium holds most of the funds through the Brussels-based Euroclear clearing house. Russia has denounced any use of its frozen assets as outright theft.
Touching sovereign assets is “something that had never been done before, not even during World War II,” the prime minister told reporters. If the pro-kyiv “coalition of the willing” is not prepared to take the risks, there is “There is no point in continuing” he added.
“We know that there are large amounts of Russian money in other countries that are silent about it,” De Wever stated. “If we move forward, we must all do so together. That is European solidarity.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also warned that the EU must avoid undermining “the financial and monetary stability of our economies and the euro area” when considering any step involving the assets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that “smarter” European governments understand the danger that the proposed loan to Ukraine represents to the stability of the global financial system.
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