Belgium acknowledges the potential use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit, but insists that the legal, financial, and systemic risks associated with such a decision must be shared collectively by European nations.
This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs, and Development Cooperation of Belgium, Maxime Prévot, during his visit to Kyiv, as reported by a Suspilne correspondent.
According to him, Brussels cannot unilaterally bear the risk whereby Belgium might eventually have to reimburse Russia for the frozen funds in 10 to 15 years.
The sum in question involves approximately 210 billion euros of Russian sovereign assets, a significant portion of which is frozen within the EU in the accounts of the Belgian depository, Euroclear.
At the end of 2025, Belgium opposed the direct transfer of these funds to Ukraine. Prévot explained that the country was expecting solidarity from other European states in distributing potential risks, but no such mechanism had been established at that time.
“Proportionally, it is unacceptable for our budget. However, this solidarity never materialized. Likely because many other capitals also recognized the risks and were unwilling to share them,” he stated.
The head of the Belgian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Brussels’ position should not be interpreted as a reluctance to assist Ukraine. He noted that experts had identified legal, fiscal, and potentially systemic risks to European financial markets that need to be considered before a decision is made.
After EU member states failed to agree on the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, on December 19, 2025, EU leaders approved support for Ukraine amounting to 90 billion euros for 2026-2027. This loan is secured by the EU budget reserve, not by Russian assets.
Concurrently, Prévot indicated that Belgium has no fundamental objections to the future use of frozen Russian Federation funds for Ukraine’s benefit.
“The risks we identified then have not miraculously disappeared. However, we have no fundamental objections to using these funds for Ukraine’s welfare,” the minister stressed.
He also mentioned that the issue might resurface in light of Ukraine’s needs beyond 2027, should the war continue for a longer duration.
In December 2025, Belgium opposed the mechanism proposed by the European Commission to utilize frozen Russian assets for financing Ukraine. Brussels feared that in the event of legal claims from the Russian Federation, Belgium itself might be compelled to return the funds, as approximately 210 billion euros of Russian assets in Europe are held by the Belgian depository, Euroclear. At that time, the country insisted on financial and legal guarantees from other EU members.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever also stated that the utilization of these assets entails legal, financial, and economic risks. According to him, Brussels does not object to Russian funds eventually being directed towards Ukraine’s reconstruction, but considered it risky to use them during the war without shared guarantees.
Following the EU member states’ failure to agree on a reparations loan funded by Russian assets, on December 19, 2025, EU leaders made a decision to grant Ukraine 90 billion euros for 2026-2027. This loan was secured by the EU budget reserve, rather than frozen Russian Federation assets.
Source: suspilne.media