🇧🇪 Belgium refused to support the use of €200 billion in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, — Euractiv
Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, and Spain called on the European Commission to find a new way to direct frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
However, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken rejected this proposal.
This is not up for discussion, the door is closed, — he stated.
Most Russian assets are held in the Belgian depository Euroclear. Brussels fears that their use could lead to lawsuits and financial claims from Russia specifically against Belgium.
Francken also criticized the Baltic states, which actively support transferring the assets to Ukraine, and called on them not to constantly try to bring this issue back to the table.
Meanwhile, Belgian Foreign Minister Max Prévot previously allowed for the use of the assets if legal risks and liabilities were fairly distributed among all EU countries. European foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss this issue next week.
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