Belgium demands concrete guartees

24/10/2025 11:56

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on Thursday that his country needs concrete and solid guarantees before supporting a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund a giant loan to Kyiv, pointing out that the plan is "unchartered territory". Belgium's position is critical, as the assets in question are held by Belgian financial institution Euroclear. The government has cautioned against seizing the assets, arguing it could expose Euroclear to litigation and ultimately create a major financial crisis. "Can this (plan) be legal? That is a very good question ... There are no clear answers," De Wever told reporters after attending an EU summit in Brussels where it was one of the subjects being discussed with EU leaders. "We will in any case be buried in litigation. That seems like a certainty." EU leaders did not reach an agreement on how to handle the frozen assets during the summit. The issue will be discussed further at the next EU summit in December.