EU races to win Belgium’s support for plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

The European Commission has intensified its efforts to address Belgium’s reservations over its plan to channel frozen Russian assets into a loan for Ukraine, with high-level talks scheduled for Friday, November 7.

According to Belga, senior Commission experts will meet with representatives of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to discuss the proposal, which envisions using approximately €140 billion in frozen Russian assets to finance a recovery loan for Kyiv.

The meeting follows a week of diplomatic activity aimed at avoiding a repeat of the tense October 23 EU summit, where De Wever strongly opposed Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s initiative to mobilise Russian central bank assets currently held by the Euroclear clearinghouse in Brussels.

De Wever argued that Belgium lacked adequate assurances to protect itself from potential financial and legal repercussions should the frozen Russian funds be unfrozen in the future. The European Commission, however, countered that such risks were exaggerated and stressed that the initiative did not amount to confiscation.

Despite Belgium’s objections, the proposal has received broad backing from key EU members, including Germany and France, increasing pressure on Brussels to support the plan at the upcoming December summit. De Wever has maintained that Belgium will not obstruct the initiative on principle but continues to demand firm legal guarantees and an agreement among member states to share any future liabilities if Moscow seeks compensation.

This week’s discussions are aimed at addressing Belgium’s concerns and mitigating perceived risks, with the goal of ensuring a smooth approval process for a finalised Commission proposal expected by the end of December.

Meanwhile, Russia appears to be heightening its pressure on Belgium. In recent days, air traffic at several Belgian airports was briefly suspended multiple times due to drone sightings. Until recently, Belgium had not been viewed as a likely target of Russian hybrid operations, but the situation has changed amid heightened tensions over the EU’s plans to use frozen Russian assets.

By Tamilla Hasanova