Belgian PM urges EU to take risks from confiscation of Russian assets

The seizure of frozen Russian assets may violate international law, which did not happen even during the Second World War. This was announced on December 18 by Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever.

"This is a potential violation of international law. We've never done this before. Even during the Second World War, this never happened," de Wever said, quoted by VRT NWS.

He noted that the entire European Union (EU) should assume financial risks in the event of a decision, since possible compensation in the courts may significantly exceed the amount of seized assets. Brussels insists on sharing full financial responsibility for the uncertain risks associated with this process.

Also, as noted by "Gazeta.Ru", the Belgian Prime minister added that the European Commission has not yet provided reliable guarantees regarding the seizure of Russian assets.

Profitable move: what are the chances of the Central Bank returning assets blocked in the EU

The Bank of Russia has filed a lawsuit against Euroclear in Moscow and is ready to go to international courts.

The head of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, assured on December 18 that no one would leave the meeting until the issue of financing Ukraine for next year was resolved. In addition, she expressed support for Belgium's demand for the allocation of risks associated with a possible "reparation loan".,

On December 3, the European Commission approved a potential "reparation loan" for Ukraine, which implies the expropriation of sovereign Russian assets in Europe. Later, on December 12, the Politico newspaper reported that Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, Malta opposed the EU proposal to transfer frozen assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine, which amount to about €210 billion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 27 that the confiscation of Russian assets located in the European Union would have negative consequences. In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added on December 15 that the situation with frozen Russian assets shows that "theft is in the blood of Europeans."

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