Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared on Friday, November 28th, that he is pushing the Belgian government to come to an agreement with the European Union to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine.
Previously, EU leaders have proposed using these assets to provide Kyiv with a €140 billion loan to plug looming budget black holes.
The European Commission and multiple EU member states want to use immobilised Russian central bank assets to provide Kyiv with loans but Belgium—which hosts international deposit organisation Euroclear—fears such a move could expose it to crippling legal and financial reprisals from Moscow.
Speaking at a press conference alongside his Slovenian counterpart Robert Golob, Merz said
We must do everything we can to bring this war to an end and the use of Russian assets is, in my opinion, an appropriate instrument.
Merz said that he was in contact with ‘weak’ Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on the issue, adding
I understand his concerns, he has good arguments but we also have good arguments about reaching our common goal,,,. We are looking for a joint solution with the Belgian state and also with Euroclear so that we can decide on this within the EU with the widest consensus possible.
