Disappointed EU countries are increasing pressure on Belgium to unblock 140 billion euros of frozen Russian reserves held in Brussels, accusing the government of Prime Minister Bart De Wever of not fully disclosing what it is doing with tax revenues from these frozen assets, Politico reports, writes UNN.

DetailsThe European Commission wants the 27 EU countries to agree to channel Russian reserves as a “reparation loan” to Ukraine at a crucial European Council meeting on December 18.

But Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is resisting – and intensified his opposition on Thursday evening – arguing that Belgium would be “on the hook” if Moscow returned billions.

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However, five diplomats from various European countries complained that Belgium seemed to have a secondary goal in holding Russia’s money through the taxes received. They noted that Belgium is violating an international commitment made last year to disclose what it is doing with taxes from frozen reserves, which should be directed to Ukraine.

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Diplomats said the money was still being credited to Belgium’s budget, making it impossible to determine whether Belgium was fully meeting its obligations to Ukraine. Belgium strongly denies any wrongdoing.

If Belgium continues to resist sending frozen funds to Ukraine, diplomats noted, “EU member states will increasingly use meetings ahead of the European Council summit to question whether Belgium is profiting from tax revenues or delaying payments to Ukraine.” They also ask “whether Belgium uses regular tax revenues to support Ukraine, as other European countries do, or simply relies on taxes from Russian reserves.”

In light of this persistent delaying behavior, the question arises whether it is truly clear that Europe’s security is at stake here.

“And given these figures, there are doubts as to whether Belgium is fulfilling its promise to send its unforeseen tax revenues to Ukraine,” he noted.

This money is difficult to track, but diplomats questioning the figures use sources such as the Kiel Institute, which estimates Belgium’s total commitments to Ukraine at 3.44 billion euros between the start of the war and August 31, 2025. For comparison, the tax on Russian assets in 2024 alone amounted to 1.7 billion euros.

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The Belgian government rejected the diplomats’ criticism, stating that all tax received from Russian reserves held in Euroclear in Brussels was “earmarked” for Ukraine. It did not directly answer the question of whether all of it had already been paid, the publication writes.

“The Belgian government has committed to allocating all corporate tax revenues from interest income on immobilized Russian assets in Euroclear to support Ukraine,” a Belgian official said. “For 2025, these revenues are currently estimated at approximately 1 billion euros.”

The Belgian government also insisted that the money paid to Ukraine came from sources of the Belgian federal government, in addition to the tax on assets, the publication writes.

“In addition to the full use of corporate tax on unforeseen profits, which is fully used for military support to Ukraine, the Belgian federal government has provided Ukraine with approximately just under 1 billion euros in military and other support since 2022,” a Belgian official wrote in his statement.

As Russian assets are held in the Brussels-based Euroclear depository, the Belgian government levies a 25% corporate tax on profits generated from interest on the assets.

“[This] funding is entirely intended for Ukraine and is directed towards providing military support (military equipment, training, etc.), as well as limited civilian goods such as ambulances,” the Belgian official continued.

Part of the frustration of Belgium’s EU allies is that this lack of transparency should have been addressed last year, the publication notes.

In 2024, several Western countries accused the Belgian government of using part of the tax revenues from the assets to cover regular budget needs. In response to this criticism, the previous Belgian government promised to transfer tax revenues to an EU and G7 financial instrument for Ukraine.

“But Belgium never fulfilled this promise. When asked why the Belgian government does not use a special instrument to ensure transparency regarding the funds, it did not answer,” the publication says.

A second senior EU diplomat who criticized Belgium had an explanation.

“The tax revenues were already part of their domestic budget, and they didn’t want to give them up,” the envoy said.

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