Overview

• The Financial Times reports growing EU pressure on Belgium to allow use of Russian sovereign assets held at Euroclear, where roughly €190 billion has been immobilized since 2022.
• The European Commission has outlined a model to route Euroclear cash via the ECB and extend a limited‑recourse loan to Ukraine, with repayment triggered only if Russia pays reparations.
• Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is seeking guarantees from the other 26 EU countries to cover legal and financial exposure, drawing criticism from capitals noting Belgium’s tax take from Euroclear profits.
• Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof says EU and G7 partners must share Belgium’s risks, while Hungary’s Viktor Orban has refused to participate in such burden‑sharing.
• EU officials aim to agree a roughly €140 billion instrument by December with first disbursements in the second quarter of 2026, as the Kremlin condemns the plan and signals potential countermeasures.