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- October 19, 202614°
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- October 19, 202614°
Belgium opposes using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine
Belgium continues to oppose using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. Prévot said the move could amount to confiscation and carry serious legal and financial risks.
Belgium has not changed its position on using frozen Russian assets despite Ukraine's budgetary needs. Prévot announced that his country's opposition remained unchanged after an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers held in Ireland.
Prévot said there was not enough interest or willingness among his colleagues for the proposal, which was brought back onto the agenda at the initiative of Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. He reiterated Belgium's position, which has remained unchanged for approximately a year.
Prévot said the reasons underlying the opposition had not disappeared, adding that using frozen Russian assets through a method that could amount to confiscation carried very significant risks.
Call for financial support for Ukraine
Last week, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain asked the European Union to consider new options for using Russian assets to support Ukraine.
A joint letter from the four countries' foreign ministers said Ukraine needed more financial support both in the short and long term. The letter called for a renewed examination of how Russia's frozen assets could be used more extensively for Ukraine's benefit.
The joint letter also stressed that any methods developed must comply with international law and that any resulting financial and economic risks must be shared by all European Union countries.
Prévot said they were aware of Ukraine's short-term budgetary needs and that support should continue. However, he noted that this situation had not changed Belgium's position on using Russian assets.
The frozen portion of Russia's assets
As part of the sanctions imposed after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022, approximately 210 billion euros in assets belonging to Russia's Central Bank were frozen in European Union countries.
Approximately 185 billion euros of this amount is held by Euroclear, the Brussels-based securities clearing and custody organization.
The European Commission had proposed the previous year that cash generated from frozen Russian assets be used to finance a loan to be provided to Ukraine. Belgium opposed the proposal, saying the plan did not provide sufficient guarantees for sharing the risks arising from lawsuits Russia could file and compensation it could seek.
After Belgium's concerns were not addressed, European Union countries decided to provide Ukraine with 90 billion euros through joint borrowing.
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