EU plan to send frozen Russian funds to Ukraine is bogged down by Belgian reserves

The attempts of the European Union for devising creative financing formulas to keep Ukraine afloat, amid the escalation of Russian aggression, They encounter obstacles that are more difficult than expected.

At the summit held this Thursday in Brussels, the heads of state and government of the EU – with the absence of the Hungarian again Viktor Orbán– have committed to guaranteeing kyiv’s financial needs for 2026 and 2027, in particular for its military and defense efforts. “Russia must take good note of this“said the President of the European Council, António Costa.

The European leaders have also tasked the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyento present a concrete proposal as soon as possible. It would be about granting kyiv a “repair loan” of 140 billion euros using Russian funds frozen in community territory since the outbreak of war. The objective is to make a decision at the end of December.

However, the Belgian Prime Minister, Bart de Weverhas mounted a much stronger resistance than its partners anticipated. De Wever fears becoming the target of the Kremlin’s fury because his country hosts the headquarters of Euroclear, the financial company where the Bank of Russia’s reserves are deposited.

“There is talk of confiscating sovereign assets and handing them over to Ukraine. I want to know what the legal basis for this decision is. This is not a detail. Even during World War II, immobilized assets were never touched“De Wever warned.

However, the rest of the European leaders consider that there is no alternative to confiscation of Russian funds if they want to support Ukraine in battle. On the one hand, the United States, which between 2022 and 2024 provided half of the military aid to kyiv, has turned off the tap since the coming to power of Donald Trump.

Furthermore, European governments are having increasing problems finding money for Ukraine in a context of tight budgets and growing needs to invest in your own defenseespecially now that Moscow has launched a “hybrid war” with drone and fighter raids.

The president of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenskiwho participated in person at the summit, has asked leaders to hurry up with the “reparations loan”, since his Government will run out of money in early 2026.

“We plan to use a significant part of the frozen Russian assets to buy european weapons. This money can benefit both you and us. “It can also be used right now to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, air fleet and frontline positions,” he told European leaders.

“Anyone who delays the decision on the full use of frozen Russian assets not only limits our defense, but also slows down the progress of the EU itself. The time has come to act,” Zelensky claimed.

“There are still some issues we need to address, but I think the key message is that Russia is responsible for the damage caused in Ukraine and must pay for it“says the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas.

De Wever has presented to his colleagues three conditions that he believes are non-negotiable in exchange for lifting his veto on the “reparations loan” for Ukraine. First of all, Belgium demands “total mutualization of risk, because there is a very big risk.

“We will suffer enormous claims (from Russia), so if we want to do this, we will have to do it all together,” he argued.

Secondly, the Belgian prime minister asks his partners to provide guarantees until the entire loan is covered. “If the money had to be returned, each Member State must contribute its corresponding share. “The consequences cannot fall only on Belgium.”

The third condition that De Wever raises, and perhaps the most difficult to meet, is that all member states that have Russian assets participate. “We know that There are huge amounts of Russian money in other countries that have remained silent. If we act, we must all act together. That is European solidarity,” he alleges.

“If these three demands are met, which I consider to be quite reasonable, we will be able to move forward. If not, I will do everything in my powerboth at European and national level, politically and legally, to stop this decision“, threatened the Belgian Prime Minister.

In her legislative proposal, Von der Leyen must take into account all of De Wever’s demands if she wants the “reparations loan” to go ahead. The EU is willing to move forward without the support of Hungary, which is taken for granted, but does not want to do so without Belgium.

“The discussion has allowed us to identify points that we still need to clarify,” admitted the president of the Commission.

During the working dinner, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagardewho in the past warned that the confiscation of Russian funds would undermine the credibility of the euro, has defended that Von der Leyen’s plan “respects European law and international law”.

Lagarde also considers that it is a “feasible solution” to help Ukraine and that “it is possible to resolve all the pending technical problems,” according to Costa.

However, European leaders also do not agree on how Ukraine should use this credit. Germany demands that all the money be spent on military aid, France wants it to only be invested in European weapons, while the Netherlands and Sweden defend maximum flexibility for kyiv.

The only concrete decision that European leaders have taken in Brussels has been to ratify the 19th package of sanctions against the Kremlinwhose main novelty is to prohibit all imports of Russian liquefied natural gas from January 1, 2027.

The heads of State and Government have also celebrated that Trump has imposed for the first time sanctions on Russia for refusing a ceasefire. But in Brussels no one has any illusions, nor is it ruled out that the meeting between the president of the United States and Vladimir Putin in Budapest will soon return to the agenda.