The EU redoubles pressure on Belgium to agree to send Russian funds to Ukraine: “It is the best solution”

The Ursula von der Leyen Commission has proposed a credit of 140,000 million euros for Ukrainefinanced by the Bank of Russia’s assets tied up since the outbreak of war in the financial services company Euroclear, based in Brussels. But Belgium blocks it for fear that Moscow’s retaliation will fall solely on its territory.

During the meeting of defense ministers of the 27 held this Monday in Brussels, the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, defended continuing with this ‘repair loan‘ considering that it is the “best solution” to keep kyiv afloat.

“It sends a very powerful triple message: to Ukraine, that we are here to help them defend themselves; a second message to Moscow, that they cannot hold out longer than us; and a third message also to Washington, that we are taking very firm and credible measures,” says Kallas.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever sent an incendiary letter to Von der Leyen last week alleging that “the proposed repair loan plan is totally wrong“.

This initiative could be perceived internationally as a “illegal expropriation“, and therefore as a “violation of the rule of law, sovereign immunity and property rights,” says De Wever.

“This perception could reduce interest in holding or purchasing EU bonds, which would raise yields and would increase Member States’ borrowing costsin addition to undermining confidence in Euroclear,” the letter continues.

“Investors are likely to demand higher premiums to compensate for the increased risk of expropriation. This would amplify systemic risks for Euroclear and, by extension, for EU financial markets, potentially triggering a systemic crisis and destabilize the euro itself“says the Belgian Prime Minister.

All of these arguments had already been put forward by De Wever in the past, but in his latest letter he adds a new one that directly hits Brussels’ waterline.

“Moving forward hastily with the reparations loan plan would have, as collateral damage, that we, as the EU, we would effectively be preventing reaching an eventual peace agreement“, he states.

“We must understand that Belgium is under a lot of pressure. This is very evident“said the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy when asked about De Wever’s letter.

“I in no way belittle Belgium’s concerns, but we can address them. We can take those risks together and we need to work on a viable solution to move forward with the repair loan,” insists Kallas.

The rest of the Defense Ministers who have spoken have also supported sending the frozen Russian assets to the Zelensky Government. “It is time to use the reparations loan to support Ukraine, because Ukrainians need financial resources to continue their fight“said the Swedish representative, Pal Jonson.

“We need to use the frozen assets to ensure not only that Ukraine has sufficient support now, but also in the coming years. Because if Putin feels that support for Ukraine is decreasing and he is gaining ground every day, he will continue his aggression,” says the Dutch Defense Minister, Ruben Brekelmans.

“The only way to change your calculations is ensure there is strong but also long-term support for Ukraine. We can achieve this on the one hand with bilateral aid, but we also need frozen assets,” he insisted.

Trump’s original 28-point peace plan – which everyone in Brussels interpreted as a capitulation by Kiev – called for investing $100 billion of frozen Russian assets in “US-led initiatives to rebuild and invest in Ukraine, with the US receiving 50% of the benefits of this operation.”

Washington’s interest in appropriating the Bank of Russia funds frozen in Europe is another factor pushing Brussels to act quickly to stop Trump.

After holding a telematic conversation with Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders, President Von der Leyen has announced that she will present this week the legislative proposal to cover the reparations loan.

“We remain united behind a peace agreement that gives justice to Ukraine. One that fully defends the sovereignty of Ukraine and provides the necessary security guarantees“, he wrote on his X account.

For his part, heThe head of community diplomacy has expressed her distrust of the efforts of Trump’s envoy in Moscow, although without quoting him directly.

“I am afraid that all the pressure will fall on the victim, that is, that Ukraine will have to make concessions and assume obligations, while, to achieve peace, we must not lose sight of the fact that it was Russia who started this war, who continues it and who is attacking civilian infrastructure daily to cause as much damage as possible,” Kallas said.

“Yes, I’m afraid that all the pressure will be put on the weaker side, because that is the easiest way to stop the war if Ukraine surrenders. But this benefits no one: neither Ukraine, nor the European Union, nor global security in general,” he alleges.

“The Charter of the United Nations establishes that borders cannot be changed by force. If this is successful, we will see it repeated in other parts of the world. Then we will see that whoever has the power gets what they want, something that is not good for the majority of the countries on the planet,” he denounced.