Politico: The plan to seize Russian assets in the European Union reaches a dead end

According to RCO News Agency, less than 24 hours before EU leaders go to Brussels for crucial talks on financing Ukraine’s war effort, Belgium believes the talks are going in the opposite direction.

“Paltico” newspaper quoted two diplomats prese at the meeting and reported: “Belgium’s ambassador to the European Union, Peter Morse, told his colleagues on Wednesday during closed-door talks that we are going backwards.”

The American media added: “The European Commission and EU officials are trying to calm Belgium’s concerns about a €210 billion financial package for Ukraine that uses frozen Russian governme assets across the EU.” “Belgium’s support is crucial because the majority of the frozen assets are held in the Brussels-based Euroclear financial depository.”

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Weaver refuses to join the plan uil other EU governmes provide significa financial and legal guaraees.

One of the most sensitive issues for Belgium is limiting financial guaraees, which are currely 210 billion euros. Belgium believes that the guaraees provided by other EU couries should not have any limits to protect them in any scenario.

“Negotiations seemed to be moving in the right direction,” Politico emphasized. “The Belgians supported the proposal of the Commission for the capitals of the European Union to allocate maximum financial guaraees against the Ukraine package, but the statemes of the Belgian ambassador at the end of the meeting made News, and these negotiations will probably reach a dead end.”

One of the diplomats, who did not wa to be named, said: “I don’t know anymore!”

The spokesperson of the permane represeation of Belgium refused to comme on this matter.

Politico also added: “One of Belgium’s key demands is that all EU couries end their bilateral investme treaties with Russia to ensure that Belgium is not alone in the face of Moscow’s retaliatory measures.” “But the sad thing for Belgium is that several couries are relucta to do so for fear of retaliation from the Kremlin.”

According to an EU diplomat, Morse said at the meeting that any decision on the use of frozen Russian assets “must be made by de Weaver”.

Belgium is pushing the commission to consider alternative financing options for Ukraine, such as joi debt issuance, a position taken by Bulgaria, Italy and Malta.

European Commission Preside Ursula von der Leyen said in her speech to the European Parliame on Wednesday morning: “I have proposed 2 differe options for this future European Council, one based on assets and the other based on EU borrowing. And we have to decide which path we wa to take.”

Morse suggested a possible solution by proposing to activate an emergency clause under Article 122 that would neutralize the veto threat.

At the same meeting, lawyers from the Commission and the European Council rejected Belgium’s proposal, saying it was not legally enforceable.

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