Bart De Wever earlier denounced the European Commission\u2019s plan to \u2018steal\u2019 the frozen funds<\/p>\n
The EU states pushing hardest to tap Russia\u2019s frozen assets are acting as if they are \u201cpsychologically at war\u201d with Moscow, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has said.
\nSpeaking after condemning the latest EU proposal to use the frozen Russian sovereign funds to help finance Ukraine, De Wever labeled the plan \u201cvery unwise and ill-considered.\u201d He also warned that the plan backed by European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen would amount to \u201cstealing\u201d and would open the bloc up to potential legal action.
\nVon der Leyen last week proposed providing Ukraine with \u20ac90 billion over the next two years, anchored by a so-called \u201creparations loan\u201d backed by the frozen assets, or by debt financed by EU member states, deemed politically unworkable by most.
\nBelgium, which hosts the financial clearinghouse Euroclear, where the bulk of Russia\u2019s immobilized central bank assets are held, has long resisted such efforts. Brussels argues that forcing Euroclear to make the funds available could carry severe legal, financial and geopolitical risks.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
EU \u2018stealing\u2019 Russian money \u2018unwise\u2019 \u2013 Belgian PM<\/p>\n
De Wever also argued that the strongest supporters of the proposal are EU states geographically closest to Russia, claiming they \u201cmentally are almost in a state of war\u201d with Moscow. He stressed that Belgium is \u201cnot at war\u201d with Russia and doesn\u2019t want to \u201chave a war with Russia.\u201d\u00a0
\nThe Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia) and Poland have become the EU\u2019s most vocal advocates of a hard line toward Russia, warning of what they claim is an imminent threat.
\nMeanwhile, Politico has reported that EU leaders are considering politically sidelining De Wever if he continues to block the plan. Belgium could be treated like Hungary \u2013 frozen out of key talks, ignored in negotiations and given little influence over future EU decisions \u2013 unless it backs down, the outlet claimed, citing a source.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: EU rushing to bypass Orban on Russian assets plan \u2013 FT<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Belgian leader would be frozen out and ignored, just like Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban has been given the cold shoulder over\u2026 his refusal to play ball on sanctioning Russia,\u201d one diplomat told the outlet, adding that Belgium\u2019s views on EU proposals would no longer be sought and phone calls would go unanswered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bart De Wever earlier denounced the European Commission\u2019s plan to \u2018steal\u2019 the frozen funds The EU states pushing hardest to tap Russia\u2019s frozen assets are acting as if they are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t