Belgium urges "coalition of the willing" to keep Russian assets frozen

With European Union sanctions on Russia up for renewal this summer and no certainty of unanimous support among member states, Belgium is stepping forward to rally an international coalition to keep billions in frozen Russian assets locked down.

Belgium’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot has warned that if the EU fails to extend its current sanctions regime by the end of July, alternative legal mechanisms must be urgently prepared to prevent the release of Russian state and private assets held in Europe—particularly those parked at Euroclear, a Brussels-based clearing house that controls over €180 billion in sanctioned Russian funds.

“We absolutely need to have alternatives for keeping the assets frozen. We could have a new international framework initiative, which will force those assets to stay in Euroclear, or another alternative would be a national initiative of the Belgian parliament,” he said in an interview with Euroactiv.

Prévot stressed that while Belgium is prepared to act, unilateral action is not a preferred path. “In both cases, it will not be possible for Belgium to act alone. We absolutely need to pool the risks. We absolutely need to have a mutual approach,” he said. “Seeing the risk both legally and financially, it’s absolutely important to have a ‘coalition of the willing’ – this time related to the Russian assets.”

The renewal of sanctions requires unanimity among all 27 EU member states, and concerns are mounting that Hungary may withhold its support, potentially derailing the 17th package of sanctions being prepared. With time running short, Prévot underlined the urgency of developing a robust legal strategy that could be activated swiftly if needed. Belgian legal experts, he confirmed, are already exploring such options.

From Belgium’s perspective, the ideal scenario would involve the creation of an international legal framework backed not only by EU member states but also by partners such as the United Kingdom and Canada. “Belgium will absolutely avoid being alone and taking all the risk of being pursued by Russia in different courts with only sentimental support from EU member states,” Prévot noted. “We need to have strong, written commitments from the other countries.”

When asked whether the EU might lift sanctions under pressure from Washington, especially if prompted by a second Trump administration, Prévot pushed back. “I don't think so. However, it depends on whether this is part of the global deal to achieve a peace process and whether it is done with the agreement of all the parties. In this case, why not? But if [Trump] only calls and asks for it – certainly not.”

As debate continues within the EU over whether to go beyond freezing and begin actively using Russian state assets to support Ukraine, Belgium’s position remains focused on consolidation. “We have to be honest, it is clear that the first priority is to keep those assets frozen,” Prévot said. He emphasised that the most straightforward way to achieve this is for all EU members to agree on the next sanctions package, although he acknowledged that reaching unanimity remains in doubt due to opposition from one or two countries.

By Tamilla Hasanova