IRNA reported Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said Belgium strongly
opposes confiscating frozen Russian sovereign assets and transferring them to
Ukraine, arguing the move would seriously threaten Belgium’s financial-sector
reputation. Around €200bn of Western-frozen Russian assets are largely held at
Euroclear in Belgium. Prévot warned that even in wartime, breaching European
financial rules could structurally damage the euro’s credibility and the wider
European financial system. Belgium reviewed a UK proposal to place the assets
into an independent investment fund but judged the legal and financial risks too
high and unacceptable; it will not assume those risks by itself. Prime Minister
Bart De Wever said Belgium will not back any plan unless other EU member states
and Ukraine backers provide full guarantees.
