German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Dec. 7, in order to convince De Wever to lift his veto to the use of the frozen Russian assets. It is not clear whether De Wever backed down. After the meeting, Merz said that he and von der Leyen assured De Wever that the burden of the action will be shared among all EU members.
Such a proposition has no connection to reality. Euroclear safeguards and administers securities worth about €39.6 trillion on behalf of clients from more than 90 countries. The sheer scale of its operations makes it a cornerstone of the global financial system. A confiscation of the Russian assets would completely destroy trust in the institution, with uncalculable consequences, including legal consequences, for the Belgian government.
Despite that, EU leaders go ahead, the more so after the publication of the U.S. National Security Strategy paper, said Brookings Institution senior fellow Carlo Bastasin, in an interview with Italian TV channel Raitre Dec. 7.
