European Union’s attempt to release funding for Ukraine from the committed assets of the Russian Central Bank faced resistance as the Belgium He raised legal questions about the funding plan of up to 185 billion euros ($ 217 billion) maintained on his territory.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever described the EU’s proposal to make interest on Russian assets as “risk»Which requires a strict distribution of risks between EU Member States. He emphasized that the process will be time consuming, suggesting the Union to seek Alternative sources of funding for Kiev.
“Each country should be guaranteed proportionally if it fails,” De Wever told reporters on Thursday (2.10.2025) on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Copenhagen. The EU’s plan for assets implies “huge sums of money”, which require guarantees for a “very long time”, he added.
EU leaders who gathered for a meeting Wednesday in the Danish capital expressed a more optimistic assessment, saying that the attempt to concentrate billions of Ukraine -destroyed is gaining dynamic and that concerns will be redeemed. Commission President Ursula von der Laene assured that the dangers associated with the plan would burden “wider shoulders”.
The Commission, the EU Executive Body, presented to the Member States the plan for reserved assets at the end of last week, hoping to secure their support before the official EU summit in late October. With an emphasis on profits from Russian funds, the plan is not equivalent to the seizure of assets.
To reassure the Member States concerned about legal issues, the EU has proposed A ‘Custom Debt Contract’ with Euroclear Clearing Agencybased in Brussels, with rate of 0%to ensure that it can meet any future demands of Russia.
About 140 billion euros could be allocated, which will be offered to Ukraine in installments, on certain terms, von der Layen said.
However, De Wever insisted that the mechanism left many legal questions unanswered, implying that they were not sure that the plan could be resolved quickly – and that alternatives should be found from other sources of funding.
“We are a club with the richest countries in the world, which says it is impossible to raise this money,” De Wever said. “It’s not impossible,” he said, adding that “there is no free money.”