2 hours agoShareSavePaul KirbyEurope digital editorShareSaveThierry Monasse/Getty ImagesEuropean Union governments have agreed to immobilise indefinitely Russian assets of up to €210bn (£185bn) that have been frozen in the EU since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Most of Moscow’s cash is held in Belgian bank Euroclear, and European leaders are hoping to agree a deal at next week’s crunch EU summit that would use the money for a loan to help Kyiv fund its military and economy.After almost four years of Russia’s full-scale war Ukraine is running out of cash, and needs an estimated €135.7bn (£119bn; $159bn) over the next two years.Europe aims to provide two-thirds of that, but Russian officials accuse the EU of theft.The Russian Central Bank said on Friday it was suing Belgian bank Euroclear in a Moscow court, in response to the EU loan plan.’Only fair’ to use Russia’s assets Russia’s assets in the EU were frozen within days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear.The EU and Ukraine argue that money should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed: Brussels calls it a “reparations loan” and has come up with a plan to prop up Ukraine’s economy to the tune of €90bn.”It’s only fair that Russia’s frozen assets should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that money then becomes ours,” says Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the assets will “enable Ukraine to protect itself effectively against future Russian attacks”.Russia’s court action was expected in Brussels and European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday that EU financial institutions were “fully protected” from legal proceedings.But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy.Belgium is worried it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong and Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain says using it could “destabilise the international financial system”.Euroclear also has an estimated €16-17bn immobilised in Russia.Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has set the EU a series of “rational, reasonable, and justified conditions” before he will accept the reparations plan, and he has refused to rule out legal action if it “poses significant risks” for his country.EPA/ShutterstockWhat is the EU’s plan?The EU is working to the wire ahead of next Thursday’s summit to come up with a solution that Belgium can accept.Until now the EU has held off touching the assets themselves directly but since last year has paid the “windfall profits” from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that was €3.7bn. Legally using the interest is seen as safe as Russia is under sanction and the proceeds are not Russian sovereign property.But international military aid for Ukraine has slipped dramatically in 2025, and Europe has struggled to make up the shortfall left by the US decision to all but stop funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump.There are currently two EU proposals aimed at providing Ukraine with €90bn, to cover two-thirds of its funding needs.One is to raise the money on capital markets, backed by the EU budget as a guarantee. This is Belgium’s preferred option but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be difficult when Hungary and Slovakia object to funding Ukraine’s military.That leaves loaning Ukraine cash from the Russian assets, which were originally held in securities but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank.The EU’s executive, the European Commission, accepts Belgium has legitimate concerns and says it is confident it has dealt with them.The plan is for Belgium to be protected with a guarantee covering all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU.Should Euroclear suffer a loss of its own assets in Russia, a Commission source explained that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia’s own clearing house which are in the EU.If Russia went after Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognised in the EU.In a key development, EU ambassadors have agreed that Russia’s central bank assets held in Europe should be immobilised indefinitely.Until now they have had to vote unanimously every six months to renew the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium.The EU ambassadors used an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets remain frozen as long as an “immediate threat to the economic interests of the union” continues, or until Russia pays war reparations to Ukraine in full.Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said the decision was an “important step in enabling more support for Ukraine and protecting our democracy”.Thierry Monasse/Getty ImagesWhy Belgium is not yet satisfiedBelgium is adamant it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but sees legal risks in the plan and fears being left to handle the repercussions if things go wrong.A usually divided political landscape in this case has rallied behind Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who is under pressure from European colleagues.”Very important decisions” would be made by the EU in the coming week, he said during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London on Friday. He added that Belgium and the UK would work together to “get the certainty that we can support …
