EU ready to bypass Belgian opposition to using frozen Russian assets for loan

President Ursula von der Leyen hinted that the European Commission is ready to draft a legal proposal to use up to €185 billion worth of Russian frozen central bank assets to support Ukraine despite Belgian opposition.

The kingdom, where the vast majority of the frozen Russian assets are being held, has repeatedly warned that the so-called “reparations loan” poses potentially devastating legal and financial risks to Belgium, Caliber.Az reports, citing Euractiv.

The loan would harness assets held by Euroclear, a major clearing house based in Belgium.

“The next step is that the Commission is ready to present the legal text,” the Commission president said in a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on November 27.

In a letter sent to EU capitals earlier this week, von der Leyen presented EU leaders with three options to cover Ukraine’s substantial financing needs for 2026–2027. However, in her remarks underscored that she does not envision "any scenario" in which European taxpayers' money would be used for that, making it clear that she views the reparations loan as the only viable option.

Using the Russian central bank assets held in Belgium that were frozen shortly after Moscow’s launch of the war on Ukraine in February 2022, which form the vast majority out of the globally confiscated €260 billion funds, remains “the most effective way to sustain Ukraine’s defence and its economy,” she said shortly before her letter was circulated.

The other two distinct alternatives laid out in the letter include bilateral member state grants to Kyiv and raising cash by issuing common EU debt, to plug the war-torn country’s estimated €135.7 billion military and budgetary needs over the next two years.

By Nazrin Sadigova