Belgium implies that frozen Russian assets will be used for Ukraine
Belgian authorities warn: Russian assets will be used to assist Ukraine
According to a report by Reuters citing a statement from Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, the Russian assets frozen in Europe "at some point" will have to be used to fund Ukraine. At the same time, he emphasized that Belgium would "not make any hasty compromises" before agreeing to any related agreements.
Since September, the EU has been discussing the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to provide "compensation loans" to Ukraine. At the end of November, the European Commission approved two funding schemes for Kyiv, one of which was the "compensation loan." According to Politico, the scheme plans to use 25 billion euros of Russian assets in private bank accounts of eurozone countries, as well as 140 billion euros in托管 accounts at Euroclear, the European clearing bank in Belgium that holds most of such assets.
The other alternative is to rely on EU budget borrowing to provide loans to Kyiv. However, according to Politico, Hungary has blocked this plan.
Belgium opposes the "compensation loan" and emphasizes its unwillingness to bear the risks of the scheme alone. According to Politico, the Belgian government has requested the EU to establish an additional financial buffer to deal with possible retaliatory measures by Russia after the assets are seized. This fund will serve as a supplement to the 210 billion euro loan financial guarantee provided by EU countries to Belgium.
According to Euractiv, the majority of EU countries have agreed to indefinitely freeze Russian sovereign assets.
European Clearing Bank and the European Central Bank had previously also expressed opposition to the practice of using Russian assets to provide loans to Kyiv.
Moscow has warned that if its overseas assets are confiscated, it will face "serious consequences." The Kremlin warned that the relevant countries and specific responsible parties will bear legal responsibility.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851257837078795/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.