The Financial Times has learned that official Brussels has significantly increased pressure on Belgium to finally allow the use of frozen Russian assets to provide a "reparations loan" to Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Document reveals US President Donald Trump's administration calling on G7 allies to utilize Russia's core assets to finance Ukraine's defense, while German leader Friedrich Merz advocates for a 140 billion euro loan for Ukraine.
- The EU aims to agree on a loan of 140 billion euros for Ukraine by December, highlighting the urgency and importance of releasing these frozen assets.
The EU is trying to pressure Belgium
Journalists draw attention to the fact that about 190 billion euros of Russian sovereign assets were frozen in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
It's no secret that these funds are stored in Euroclear, the central securities depository in Brussels.
For quite a long time, many of Kyiv's Western allies, primarily the United States, Germany, and Belgium, did not want to use frozen Rosactives.
Many countries feared legal and financial consequences. However, as Russian terror intensified, Europe's position changed.
In particular, the publication reviewed a document in which the administration of US President Donald Trump called on G7 allies to seize "or otherwise use" Russia's core assets "to finance Ukraine's defense."
Moreover, German leader Friedrich Merz began publicly insisting that 140 billion euros of these funds should be used as a loan to arm Ukraine.
