Overview
- Prime Minister Bart De Wever told Ursula von der Leyen the reparations-loan scheme is "fundamentally wrong," could hinder a future peace deal, and will only get Belgian support if other states give binding, immediate risk-sharing guarantees.
- Euroclear warned EU leaders the loan design would be seen as confiscation outside the bloc, could raise sovereign borrowing costs, and might trigger compensatory claims on member states.
- The Commission confirmed receipt of De Wever’s letter and said it is working with capitals, including Belgium, to finalize a legal text to operationalize the proposal for roughly €140 billion.
- Several EU diplomats pressed Belgium over transparency on corporate tax receipts from interest on the immobilised assets, while Brussels insisted those revenues are earmarked for Ukraine.
- With most Russian sovereign reserves held at Euroclear in Belgium, EU governments are exploring fallback financing such as joint borrowing and faster G7 disbursements as Germany and others push for a deal at the December summit.