Russian invasion The world's response

Zelenskyj is out of luck – that's why Belgium got in the way

On Thursday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had to travel home from Brussels without the Russian billions he came there to secure. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever managed to get the EU summit to end with a watered-down statement that barely mentioned the frozen Russian state assets.

- It's a bit sad that we are being singled out as reluctant, De Wever said after the meeting, according to Politico Europe.

Of the more than 2,000 billion kronor that have been seized, most of it is in the Belgian-registered financial institution Euroclear. De Wever wants strong assurances that the country is protected if Russia were to have a legal claim to the assets.

- In that case, the money must be there immediately. Confidence in Europe's entire financial system is at stake, said De Wever.

The Belgian leader was not convinced by the assurances he received during the meeting.

– I asked my colleagues who would guarantee this. It was not met with a tsunami of enthusiasm.

Nothing concrete about Russian billions during the EU summit

No concrete decisions were made about the frozen Russian assets during Thursday's EU summit, several media outlets report.

Ukraine wants to take out a loan with the equivalent of 2,000 billion kronor as collateral. The EU countries had hoped to push the plan further during the meeting and come up with concrete legal proposals on how it could be done.

In the final communiqué, the language was considerably more watered down, writes Euronews.

"The European Council asks the Commission to present proposals for financial support [...] so that the Council can return to the issue at the next meeting," it says. The next summit will take place in December.

The main reason is Belgium, where the lion's share of Russian assets are held by the financial institution Euroclear. The country is skeptical about the plan and fears damages, and has made a number of demands in order to move forward.

Zelenskyj to EU: Use the Russian billions

The question of whether the frozen Russian billions should be used as collateral for loans to Ukraine is high on the agenda during the ongoing EU summit.

Volodymyr Zelenskyj, who is a guest, urges the EU to use the assets as quickly as possible for defense against Russian aggression. Most of the equivalent of around 2000 billion kronor is in Belgium.

- There is a great risk. We could be hit by enormous claims for damages, says the country's Prime Minister Bart De Wever according to TT.

The country has three demands: that the risk is shared by all EU countries, that all countries are involved and pay if necessary, and that frozen assets in other countries are also used.

Sweden is in favor of using the assets. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson notes that there are risks in doing so, but also risks in doing nothing.