De Wever expects Commission to leave frozen Russian assets out of new Ukraine funding plans

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he was certain the European Commission would not propose new uses of frozen Russian assets held at Euroclear to finance Ukraine. He nevertheless acknowledged that individual EU countries could raise the issue again.

De Wever was reporting on last week's EU summit to the Belgian parliament's Federal Advisory Committee on European Affairs. He said his confidence rested on assurances given during the talks. He criticised Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten for publicly supporting seizure of the funds.

The Belgian premier said he had warned colleagues of possible legal consequences. In his assessment, enthusiasm for the proposal diminished after the discussion. He linked the renewed debate partly to the arrival of European leaders who had not participated in last year's talks.

Last year, De Wever opposed using roughly 185 billion euros in Russian assets held at Euroclear without legally binding guarantees sharing the risks across EU countries. Belgium feared the depository could be required to repay Russia after the money had been spent.

EU leaders instead agreed on a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine for 2026–2027, backed by the bloc's budget. The Council agreed its position on the legal framework in February. At the October 16 summit, Volodymyr Zelensky requested another 70 billion euros.

Moscow opposes seizure of its assets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on October 1 that Russia intended to seek legal accountability, while acknowledging difficulties in recovering the funds. De Wever said on October 16 that the frozen assets could form part of a future peace agreement.