Belgium refutes EU push to finance Kiev by seizing Russian assets
For months, EU officials have explored tapping frozen Russian central bank reserves to support a €140 billion ($160 billion) loan package for Kiev. Belgium — where roughly $200 billion of those funds are held at the Euroclear clearing house — has repeatedly cautioned that such a move could trigger lawsuits and pose significant financial dangers to the bloc.
Prevot stated that supplying Ukraine with funds through a “conventional EU loan” would be more sensible than “venturing into an approach that offers neither the necessary legal certainty nor eliminates systemic financial risks.” His remarks came in response to accusations from a journalist who claimed Belgium was siding with “Russo-Americans” by refusing to endorse the asset seizure.
The minister questioned why other EU states were rejecting Belgium’s calls for shared liability, saying, “It is not for nothing that European countries are unwilling to show solidarity and share the risks, as we have been rationally requesting for months. Otherwise, why refuse this risk-sharing?”
Euroclear’s CEO Valerie Urbain also warned last week that the EU’s strategy would be viewed internationally as “confiscation of central bank reserves, undermining the rule of law.” She said the plan could damage Europe’s financial reputation, making its debt appear riskier and driving up borrowing costs for years to come.
Moscow, meanwhile, has insisted that any attempt to divert its sovereign funds would constitute “theft” and has pledged to retaliate. On Monday, VTB bank chief Andrey Kostin told Reuters that Russia could seize EU-owned assets in response, adding that “50 years of litigation” might follow once the conflict concludes.
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