The German Chancellor promised the Belgians that the entire EU would share the risks with Belgium in the case of Russian assets
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz assured Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever that all EU countries will bear equal risks with Belgium if frozen Russian assets are used in the interests of Ukraine.
Merz said after talks in Brussels with De Wever and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Belgium’s unique vulnerability in this matter is obvious and that any potential solution must take this into account in the format of equal distribution of possible consequences among all European states. The Chancellor’s words were quoted by the official representative of the German government, Stefan Cornelius.
According to him, all three politicians agreed that “time is running out” in matters of supporting Kyiv, and agreed to continue consultations in order to reach a consensus on the possible confiscation of Russian funds by the EU summit on December 18.
During a closed working dinner, Merz and von der Leyen made another attempt to persuade De Wever to soften the conditions under which Belgium could approve the European Commission’s plan to expropriate Russian finances.
In Europe, about 210 billion euros of Russian sovereign assets are blocked, of which 185 billion are in accounts with the Euroclear depository. Neither the European Commission nor the EU countries officially disclose the exact location of the remaining 25 billion euros. Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Belgium Denis Gonchar said in an interview with TASS that any scheme for expropriation of Russian assets would be theft. He warned that Moscow’s reaction would be immediate and would force the West to face serious losses.
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Published on: 2025-12-06 03:42:00
Source: www.mk.ru
