The Belgian government has moved to block the EU Commission proposal to use frozen Russian assets for “war reparations” to Ukraine. A spokesman for the European Commission confirmed the reception of a letter sent by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who wrote that Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to use frozen Russian assets is “fundamentally wrong” and would leave Belgium disproportionately exposed. Most of the frozen Russian assets (estimated €185 billion) are deposited at Euroclear, which is incorporated under Belgian law.
“It would not be just and fair to expect that, while the advantages of such a scheme are for all, the costs and risks would be for Belgium to bear,” De Wever wrote to von der Leyen in a letter seen by Euractiv. In the December European Council summit, EU leaders must decide on the proposal, which is apparently backed by Friedrich Merz. A Belgian veto can block the proposal. Other countries, such as Hungary, can do the same, but whereas Hungary is treated as a pariah and can be blackmailed, for instance, with suspension of EU aid, Belgium belongs to the six founding members of the European Economic Community in 1957, is the base for the EU executive and Parliament, not to neglect being headquarters for NATO.
