The head of the Belgian clearing house Euroclear, Valerie Urben, stated that the current plan of the European Commission to forcibly seize frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine is unrealistic. The depository is prepared to go to court to protect itself from potential bankruptcy in the event of actions by Moscow.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Legal Risks and Euroclear’s Position
According to Urben, international law allows for the blocking of assets of other states, but does not provide for their expropriation. She emphasized that if Russia perceives financial assistance to Ukraine as the confiscation of its funds, it may take corresponding retaliatory steps.
“If Russia views this recovery loan provided to Ukraine as the confiscation of its assets, it will not remain inactive,” the head of the depository added.
Urben also highlighted that Belgium could become a target of economic and legal pressure from the Russian Federation if such a decision is implemented.
Discussions Among Western Countries
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the United States is persuading several EU countries not to support the idea of a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. According to Washington, frozen Russian assets should be a tool for a potential peace agreement with Moscow, rather than being used to finance the war.
The specific EU countries involved in these negotiations have not been disclosed. Among the possible options in the American peace plan is the investment of $100 billion of frozen Russian assets into the reconstruction of Ukraine, where the U.S. could receive 50% of the profits.
Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, approximately €260 billion of assets belonging to the Central Bank of Russia have been frozen in Western countries. Of this amount, about €193 billion is held in Euroclear accounts in Belgium. For nearly four years, European countries have been negotiating the potential use of these funds to support Ukraine.
Recently, the idea of providing Ukraine with a “reparations loan” of $140 billion backed by Russian assets has been actively discussed in Europe. However, Belgium, which holds the jurisdiction over most of these funds, is categorically opposed to such an initiative due to concerns about legal risks from Russia. The European Central Bank is also not yet ready to insure such a loan.
Russia firmly rejects any attempts to confiscate its assets and describes the use of these funds for the benefit of Ukraine as “theft.”