Belgium Rejects Use Of Frozen Russian Assets To Help Ukraine
JAKARTA - Belgium on Wednesday rejected plans to use frozen Russian assets to help sustain Ukraine's economy and war efforts over the next two years. The reason is that the scheme poses a great financial and legal risk.
Ukraine's military budget and needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated at around 130 billion euros ($150 billion).
The European Union has committed to filling the shortfall. The European Union has poured more than 170 billion euros ($197 billion) since the war began in 2022.
The largest source of funds available is through Russian assets frozen. Most of the funds are stored in Belgium for around 194 billion euros as of June and outside the European Union, namely in Japan, with around $50 billion, as well as in the US, UK, and Canada with fewer amounts.
The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, is scheduled to announce details of its proposal to the public on Wednesday, December 3, to use Russian funds as collateral to help meet Ukraine's considerable needs through "reparation loans".
However, Belgium's Secretary of State, Maxime Pravot, said his country considered "the reparasion loan option to be the worst, because it was risky. This has never been done before." Russia calls the scheme a "stealth."
While stuttering to read a statement that had been prepared to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Pravot urged the European Union to borrow money for Ukraine in the international market.
"This is a well-known, robust and well-established option with predictable parameters," he said.
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"This reparasion loan scheme contains significant economic, financial and legal risks," he said, adding the commission's proposal did not address Belgium's concerns.
"It is unacceptable if we use the money and let ourselves face the risk", he added.
Belgium is concerned that Brussels-based financial clearing institutions that store frozen assets, Euroclear, could take legal action if Russia opposes the use of the funds or if the move harms its business image and interests.