Overview
- After a closed meeting in Brussels with Ursula von der Leyen and Bart De Wever, Friedrich Merz said every EU country should bear the same risks Belgium faces if frozen Russian assets are used.
- The three agreed to continue consultations with the goal of reaching a coordinated outcome at the European Council on 18 December.
- Belgium maintains it will not support using Russian central bank assets for a Ukraine loan without concrete and reliable guarantees from other member states.
- EU discussions cover €185–€210 billion in blocked Russian sovereign assets, with about €185 billion held at Euroclear in Belgium and roughly €25 billion not publicly accounted for.
- Russia’s ambassador in Belgium warned that any expropriation would constitute theft and said the response would follow immediately.