Belgium believes using frozen Russian assets could disrupt peace agreement in Ukraine
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that the European Union's plan to use frozen Russian state assets to finance Ukraine could jeopardize the chances of concluding a potential peace agreement, Reuters reports.
"Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as collateral damage, that we as EU are effectively preventing reaching an eventual peace deal," De Wever said in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seen by Reuters.
Under a plan put forward by von der Leyen, the frozen Russian central bank assets in Europe would be lent to Ukraine for Kyiv to use for defence and regular budget needs.
Belgium’s support for the plan is crucial because the EU hopes to use assets held by the Belgian financial institution Euroclear.
At a summit last month, EU leaders attempted to reach an agreement on using EUR 140 billion of frozen Russian sovereign assets in Europe to provide loans to Kyiv. However, they failed to secure Belgian support.
The letter comes as the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, prepares to address Belgium’s concerns in draft legislative proposals on the use of frozen assets. EU officials said these proposals could be presented on Friday or over the weekend.
De Wever said Belgium had not yet seen "any proposed legal language by the Commission".
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Commission hopes the EU can come to an agreement on the issue at the next summit of the bloc's leaders, which takes place on December 18-19.
Earlier this month, von der Leyen proposed alternative financing options for Ukraine, whose financing gap is set to widen significantly next year.
However, she remains focused on the frozen assets plan she first presented in September, given that many EU member states oppose increasing debt.