“Belgium requires full sharing of legal risks between EU countries.”, — write: www.unian.ua
Belgium requires full sharing of legal risks between EU countries.
Belgium named the conditions under which it would approve a reparation loan for Ukraine/ UNIAN collage, photo ua.depositphotos.comBelgium threatens to block the decision on a “reparation loan” for Ukraine at the expense of frozen Russian assets and demands the fulfillment of three important conditions. This was stated by the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart de Wever, during a meeting with the media before the summit of EU leaders on October 23.
“We have to be careful so that any decision to freeze Russian assets does not turn against us,” he emphasized.
- Firstly, Belgium requires a full distribution of legal risks between the EU countries, since significant amounts of Russian assets are stored in the Belgian Euroclear.
- Second, it insists on guarantees in case the funds have to be returned.
- In addition, Belgium wants similar steps to be taken by other states where Russian assets are also located.
“Otherwise, the relevant actions of Russia can affect only Belgium, and this is not very fair,” said the Prime Minister of Belgium.
De Wever emphasized that if these conditions are not met, he will “do everything possible” to block the decision on the reparation loan.
According to him, such a step can lead to serious consequences – Moscow can respond by confiscating the property of European companies, and the actions of the EU itself will create a dangerous legal precedent.
“If you want to make decisions that have never been made in history, you need to start from the legal base,” the prime minister said.
He also warned that if the wrong steps are taken, Europe risks “helping Putin instead of punishing him” if Russia is given the opportunity to compensate for its losses with European assets in return.
Frozen assets of the Russian Federation – what you should knowAccording to the European Commission’s plan, the EU will provide Ukraine with a large-scale loan secured by frozen Russian assets stored in the Euroclear depository. At the same time, Ukraine will have to repay the loan only if it receives reparations from Russia.
The EU insists on the legality of this scheme, as the money will be borrowed, not confiscated, and Russia will be able to return it in the future. However, the Kremlin reacted extremely aggressively, warning that the Russian Federation could prosecute individuals and countries involved in this.
Much of the Russian government’s frozen Russian assets are held in Belgium’s Euroclear, so Belgium rightly fears that it will take the brunt of any legal or financial fallout. That is why the country insists on the need to distribute risks throughout Europe.
In addition, critics say other countries, such as China and India, may refuse to place their savings in European banks because of fears that their own assets could be frozen and given as loans if they find themselves at a disadvantage to Europe.
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