FT: EU steps up pressure on Belgium to allow use of frozen Russian assets

The European Union is pressuring Belgium to allow the country to use frozen Russian assets to provide a "reparations loan" to Ukraine.

This is reported by the Financial Times, citing sources.

Approximately €190 billion in Russian sovereign assets held at Euroclear in Brussels were frozen after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Many Western countries, including Belgium, had long refrained from using these funds, fearing legal and financial consequences.

However, according to a position paper seen by the FT, Europe’s stance has shifted in recent weeks, particularly after the Trump administration called on G7 allies to seize or otherwise use Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s defence. The EU is aiming to agree a €140bn loan by December, with the first payments planned for the second quarter of 2026.

The publicationʼs interlocutor noted that Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever asked the other 26 EU countries to guarantee coverage of legal and financial risks.

“[Belgium] has been claiming for three years that Euroclear is a Belgian company, and therefore its profits too. And now, when it wants to share the risks, it claims that Euroclear is a European company,” said one senior EU diplomat.

According to three diplomats involved in preparing for the next round of talks, Belgian officials are “running out of patience”. Other capitals are stressing that “Ukraine’s predicament demands solidarity”.

At the same time, the European Commission tried to reassure Belgium by adding a provision that the loan would be covered by national contingent liabilities if Russia began paying war reparations.

"We believe that the risks for Belgium in this case are quite limited. This does not mean that they are not there at all, but these risks can probably be controlled," said a senior EU official.

The Belgian government responded by saying that “the current plan is not satisfactory” and that the conditional commitments do not “address the issue of risk coverage”.

At the same time, De Wever’s position has irritated some EU leaders, particularly because of Belgium’s relatively low level of military support for Ukraine, compared to Denmark, Sweden, and Germany.

Bloomberg previously wrote that the European Union is offering a "reparations loan" option, which is not formally considered confiscation: Russia retains the right to demand the return of funds in the future, but only if it agrees to compensate Ukraine for losses from the war.

Frozen Russian assets

The value of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the EU is almost €211 billion. In total, the European Union, the G7 countries and Australia have frozen approximately €260 billion in securities and cash.

In October 2024, the EU Council finally approved a loan of up to €35 billion to Ukraine. This money is the blocʼs contribution to the G7 initiative to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion (€45 billion) loan, which will be repaid with the proceeds from frozen Russian assets.

A few days after the EU Council decision, the G7 countries agreed to a $50 billion loan for Ukraine using proceeds from Russiaʼs frozen assets. The US contribution was $20 billion.

The European Commission on August 29 began developing a mechanism to transfer almost €200 billion of frozen Russian assets. The EU is considering transferring the assets to a “special purpose holding company” supported by the G7 countries.

The €18 billion from the EU will be paid in full by the end of the year — which is why they are again looking for a new solution regarding frozen Russian assets.

The UK government on September 4 directed one billion pounds from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to purchase military aid for Ukraine.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.