Belgian Prime Minister De Wever stated before the summit in Brussels that his country will not support the EU initiative to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine if the other countries do not share the risks.
Belgium, where most of the frozen Russian assets in Europe are located, will not support the European Union's initiative to use these funds to support Ukraine if the other member states do not share the potential risks with it. The corresponding statement was made by the country's Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Thursday, October 23, at the EU summit in Brussels.
"I want full risk-sharing because the risk is significant. <...> We (also - Ed.) want guarantees that in case of the need to return the money, each member state will contribute," De Wever said. According to him, there are "huge sums of Russian money" in several countries, besides Belgium, but representatives of those countries "remain silent about it." "If we act, then we all act together. This is European solidarity," the publication Euractiv quotes De Wever.
The politician emphasized that "we can move forward" only if these three "perfectly reasonable" demands are met. "If not, I will do everything in my power - at both the European and national levels - politically and legally, to prevent this decision," he stated.
The Prime Minister of Belgium also urged the European Commission to provide a "legal justification" for the plan to use Russian assets. "This is not a trivial matter - even during World War II, frozen assets were not touched," De Wever said. In this regard, the politician noted that he "would be surprised" if an agreement could be reached today: "But miracles have happened before."
De Wever was supported by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "I share his concerns. But he is interested in a common solution, and therefore I assume that today we will be able to take another step forward," the German politician's words were reported by the dpa agency.
More optimistic is Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. "We have a solution that is legally sound and takes Belgium's interests into account," he said upon arrival at the summit. Finnish politician's optimism is shared by the President of the European Council, António Costa: "Today <...> we will make a political decision to meet Ukraine's financial needs for 2026 and 2027, including funds for the purchase of military equipment."
