Belgian PM warns confiscating Russian assets poses “forever” risks

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has warned that the confiscation of frozen Russian assets carries significant risks for Belgium, saying Moscow has already signalled that the country would “feel the consequences forever” if such a move goes ahead.

Speaking in an interview with La Libre Belgique, De Wever described the pressure surrounding the issue as “incredible,” noting that his team has been working “day and night” on the matter.

“It would be a wonderful story: take money from the villain Putin and give it to the good guy, Ukraine. But stealing frozen assets of another country, its sovereign funds — this has never been done before. We are talking about the funds of the Central Bank of Russia,” he said.

The prime minister pointed out that even during World War II, Germany’s funds were not confiscated. He stressed that the established practice is to freeze assets during wartime and, once the conflict ends, require the losing state to hand over all or part of those assets as compensation to the victors.

De Wever rejected the notion that Russia is heading for defeat, calling it “a complete illusion.”

According to the prime minister, “Moscow has made it clear to us that in the event of confiscation, Belgium — and I personally — will feel it forever.” He added that Russia could retaliate by seizing Western assets.

“Euroclear has 16 billion in Russia. All Belgian factories in Russia can also be confiscated. And what if Belarus and China also confiscate Western assets? Have we thought about all this? No, we haven’t. I asked my European colleagues whether they are ready to share the risks Belgium is exposed to. Only Germany said it was ready to do so... Without such burden-sharing, I will do everything to block this issue. Everything,” he said.

The debate over frozen Russian assets has intensified amid divisions within the European Union. Recently, the European Central Bank declined to support the idea of paying €140 billion to Ukraine using Russian funds held by the Belgian depository Euroclear.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using frozen Russian assets as collateral to provide Ukraine with “reparation loans.” Under this plan, the assets would not be formally confiscated; instead, Ukraine would repay the loans only after Russia pays reparations.

Estimates suggest that the EU’s proposed “reparations loan,” secured by Russian assets, could total between €130 billion and €140 billion. The final amount will depend on the International Monetary Fund’s assessment of Ukraine’s financing needs for 2026 and 2027.

Euroclear currently holds more than €175 billion in cash from frozen Russian assets, which could serve as collateral. However, before granting the new loan, EU member states intend to repay the G7’s previously agreed €45 billion ($50 billion) loan to Ukraine, which was also expected to be repaid using proceeds generated from frozen Russian assets.

By Tamilla Hasanova