“ Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever said he would support the idea of a “reparation loan” for Ukraine if three conditions were met, related to legal guarantees and the protection of Belgian institutions, in particular the Euroclear financial repository, where frozen Russian assets are stored. Source: “European Truth” with reference to the prime minister’s words during a conversation with the media before the summit of EU leaders on October 23. Details: Bart de Wever stressed that he is most concerned about the legal aspect of the issue, since it is in Belgium that the Euroclear financial repository is located, where the immobilized assets of the Russian Federation are stored. “Even during the Second World War, immobilized assets were never touched. So this is a very important step, if we dare to take it. And we have three demands,” he said. The first such requirement of Belgium is the full distribution of legal risks. “We can suffer from huge lawsuits. So if you want to do it, you need to do it together. (Secondly), we want guarantees in case the money has to be returned – that each country will join in… It’s impossible for the consequences to fall entirely on Belgium,” the prime minister stressed. Thirdly, Belgium wants similar steps taken by other countries with immobilized Russian assets. “We know that there are large sums of Russian money in other countries, and they are always silent about it. If we move on this issue, let’s move together,” said de Wever. He added that if others do not agree to these demands, then he will “do everything possible” to block the decision on the reparation loan, because he sees great risks in it. “Of course, we still need to analyze what countermeasures can be… Member countries must understand that if they take Putin’s money, he will take our money,” de Wever emphasized, explaining that Russia can confiscate the property of European companies that are still present in Russia, and countries loyal to the Russian Federation can do the same. “We will take Putin’s immobilized money and we can ‘allow’ him to take that money back there. So we can even help him instead of punishing him. And then, of course, all these companies with confiscated property will start suing us… There has to be transparency about the risks, and about the legal basis for the decision – because I haven’t seen it yet … If you want to make decisions that have never been seen in history – you have to start with legal base,” the Belgian Prime Minister emphasized. He added that he considers his country’s reservations absolutely justified. We will remind: De Wever’s statements confirmed earlier reports from sources that the European Commission’s arguments have not yet convinced Belgium. As you know, the Eurocouncil plans to approve the provision of financial and military aid to Ukraine in 2026-27 with the use of frozen Russian assets in the conclusions based on the results of the October 23 summit.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever. photo: Getty Images Source: “European Truth” with reference to the Prime Minister’s words during a conversation with the media before the summit of EU leaders on October 23
Details: Bart de Wever emphasized that he is most concerned about the legal aspect of the issue, since it is in Belgium that the Euroclear financial repository is located, where the immobilized assets of the Russian Federation are stored.
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“Even during the Second World War, immobilized assets were never touched. So this is a very important step, if we dare to take it. And we have three demands,” he said.
The first such requirement of Belgium is the full distribution of legal risks. “We can suffer from huge lawsuits. So if you want to do it, you need to do it together. (Secondly), we want guarantees in case the money has to be returned – that each country will join in… It’s impossible for the consequences to fall entirely on Belgium,” the prime minister emphasized.
Thirdly, Belgium wants similar steps taken by other countries with immobilized Russian assets.
“We know that there are large sums of Russian money in other countries, and they are always silent about it. If we move on this issue, let’s move together,” said de Wever.
He added that if others do not agree to these demands, then he will “do everything possible” to block the decision on the reparation loan, because he sees great risks in it.
“Of course, we still need to analyze what countermeasures can be… Member countries must understand that if they take Putin’s money, he will take our money,” de Wever emphasized, explaining that Russia can confiscate the property of European companies that are still present in Russia, and countries loyal to the Russian Federation can do the same.
“We will take Putin’s immobilized money and we can ‘allow’ him to take that money back there. So we can even help him instead of punishing him. And then, of course, all these companies with confiscated property will start suing us… There has to be transparency about the risks, and about the legal basis for the decision – because I haven’t seen it yet … If you want to make decisions that have never been seen in history – you have to start with legal base,” the Belgian Prime Minister emphasized.
He added that he considers his country’s reservations absolutely justified.
We will remind:
- De Wever’s statements confirmed earlier reports from sources that the European Commission’s arguments until they convinced Belgium.
- As you know, the Eurocouncil plans to agree on the results of the summit on October 23 providing financial and military aid to Ukraine in 2026-27 using frozen Russian assets.