OMM Newsroom
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Wednesday he was certain the European Commission would not propose using frozen Russian assets held in Belgium to finance Ukraine, Anadolu Agency reported.
Speaking before the Federal Advisory Committee on European Affairs, De Wever said the issue had been discussed at last week’s EU summit, according to Belga news agency. He said the Commission had assured leaders it would not reopen debate over Russian assets held at Brussels-based “Euroclear”.
“I am certain that the European Commission will not make proposals to meet Ukraine’s financing needs through a new operation linked to Russian assets. I am certain of that, because that is what was said,” De Wever said.
De Wever strongly opposed a proposal last year to use approximately €185 billion ($207 billion) in frozen Russian assets held at “Euroclear” to support Ukraine. EU leaders instead agreed on a €90 billion loan for Ukraine covering this year and next.
The funding is expected to fall short of Kyiv’s needs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested an additional €70 billion in support for next year during last week’s summit.
De Wever did not rule out the possibility that other EU member states could again raise the issue of using frozen Russian assets. He criticized Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten for publicly supporting the seizure of the funds.
“Not everyone took part in last year’s debate. New leaders have emerged who are developing a line of argument that I managed to nip in the bud last year,” De Wever said.
The Belgian prime minister also warned that even public statements supporting the seizure of Russian assets could have legal consequences. He said his warning had affected other leaders at the summit, adding that there was no longer “overwhelming enthusiasm” among EU leaders for pursuing the proposal.
