🔗 Share this article Moscow Responds at the EU's Plan to Loan Immobilized Moscow's Cash to Kyiv Ukraine is depleting its financial resources to sustain its armed forces and economy afloat, after close to 48 months of Russia's full-scale war. From the EU's perspective, the remedy to plugging Ukraine's budget hole of €135.7bn for the next two years rests with Moscow's immobilized funds located within Belgian bank Euroclear, and European Union officials aim to sign that off at their meeting in Brussels next week. Moscow's representatives state the EU plan would be an confiscation, and Russia's central bank stated on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court prior to a conclusive plan is made. 'Only Fair' to Use Russia's Funds, Argue European and Ukrainian Officials Overall, Russia has roughly €210bn of its state reserves blocked in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear. The EU and Ukraine argue that that capital should be used to restore what Russia has destroyed: EU officials terms it a "loan for reparations" and has proposed a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy amounting to €90bn. "It is only just that the assets frozen from Russia should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that that capital then becomes Ukraine's," states Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky. Chancellor Friedrich Merz states the assets will "help Ukraine to defend itself effectively against future Russian attacks". Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy. Authorities in Brussels is anxious it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong, and Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain warns using the assets could "destabilise the global financial architecture". Euroclear also has an roughly €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgium's PM Bart de Wever has presented the EU with a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will agree to the reparations plan, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "carries significant risks" for his country. The Details of the EU's Plan? The EU is racing against time before next Thursday's summit to finalize a solution that Belgium can support. Until now the EU has refrained from accessing the principal funds directly but starting in 2024 has directed the "excess income" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that amounted to €3.7bn. From a legal standpoint, using the revenue is considered less risky as Russia is under sanction and the earnings are not property of the Russian state. But foreign defense assistance for Ukraine has fallen significantly in 2025, and Europe has found it difficult to compensate for the shortfall left by the US decision to virtually halt funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are presently two EU proposals aimed at supplying Ukraine with €90bn, to finance a large portion of its budgetary necessities. One is to raise the money on the markets, secured against the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's first choice but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be challenging when two member states object to funding Ukraine's military. The alternative is lending Ukraine cash from the frozen Russian funds, which were initially held in financial instruments but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank. The EU's executive acknowledges Belgium has legitimate concerns and states it is assured it has dealt with them. The proposal is for Belgium to be shielded with a guarantee encompassing all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. Should Euroclear incur losses of its own assets in Russia, that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. Should Russia targeted Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognized in the EU. In a significant move, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to freeze indefinitely Russia's central bank assets held in Europe for the foreseeable future. Previously they have had to vote all together every six months to extend the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are planning to use an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets stay blocked as long as an "direct danger to the economic security of the union" continues. Why Belgium is Remains Convinced The Belgian government is firm it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but identifies regulatory pitfalls in the plan and fears being shouldering the repercussions if things fail. A typically partisan political environment in this case has united behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from other European officials. "The Belgian economy is not large. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – consider if it would need to carry a €185bn bill," notes Veerle Colaert, academic specializing in financial regulation at KU Leuven University. Although the EU might be able to secure adequate assurances for the loan itself, Belgium is concerned about an additional danger of being subject to extra damages or penalties. Prof Colaert also contends the demand for Euroclear to provide a loan to the EU would contravene EU banking regulations. "Financial institutions need to adhere to prudential rules and shouldn't concentrate risk. Now the EU is instructing Euroclear to do precisely that. "What is the purpose of these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be secure. And if things go wrong it would become the responsibility of Belgium to rescue Euroclear. That's a further cause why it's so crucial for Belgium to get ironclad assurances for Euroclear." The European Union Under Pressure from Every Direction There is no time to lose, caution seven EU member states including those bordering Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They maintain the frozen assets plan is "the most financially feasible and politically realistic solution". "This is a crucial test for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If the plan collapses, I don't know what we'll do next. That's why we have to finalize the deal in a week's time". While Russia is adamant its money should not be used, there are further worries among European figures that the US may want to use Russia's frozen billions in another way, as part of its own peace initiative. Zelensky has said Ukraine is in discussions with Europe and the US on a rebuilding fund, but he is also cognizant the US has been engaging with Russia about possible partnership. A preliminary version of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's immobilized capital being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving
Ukraine is depleting its financial resources to sustain its armed forces and economy afloat, after close to 48 months of Russia's full-scale war. From the EU's perspective, the remedy to plugging Ukraine's budget hole of €135.7bn for the next two years rests with Moscow's immobilized funds located within Belgian bank Euroclear, and European Union officials aim to sign that off at their meeting in Brussels next week. Moscow's representatives state the EU plan would be an confiscation, and Russia's central bank stated on Friday it was suing Euroclear in a Moscow court prior to a conclusive plan is made. 'Only Fair' to Use Russia's Funds, Argue European and Ukrainian Officials Overall, Russia has roughly €210bn of its state reserves blocked in the EU, and €185bn of that is held by Euroclear. The EU and Ukraine argue that that capital should be used to restore what Russia has destroyed: EU officials terms it a "loan for reparations" and has proposed a plan to prop up Ukraine's economy amounting to €90bn. "It is only just that the assets frozen from Russia should be used to rebuild what Russia has destroyed – and that that capital then becomes Ukraine's," states Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky. Chancellor Friedrich Merz states the assets will "help Ukraine to defend itself effectively against future Russian attacks". Russia's court action was expected in Brussels. But it is not just Moscow that is unhappy. Authorities in Brussels is anxious it will be saddled with an enormous bill if it all goes wrong, and Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain warns using the assets could "destabilise the global financial architecture". Euroclear also has an roughly €16-17bn immobilised in Russia. Belgium's PM Bart de Wever has presented the EU with a series of "rational, reasonable, and justified conditions" before he will agree to the reparations plan, and he has left open the possibility of legal action if it "carries significant risks" for his country. The Details of the EU's Plan? The EU is racing against time before next Thursday's summit to finalize a solution that Belgium can support. Until now the EU has refrained from accessing the principal funds directly but starting in 2024 has directed the "excess income" from them to Ukraine. In 2024 that amounted to €3.7bn. From a legal standpoint, using the revenue is considered less risky as Russia is under sanction and the earnings are not property of the Russian state. But foreign defense assistance for Ukraine has fallen significantly in 2025, and Europe has found it difficult to compensate for the shortfall left by the US decision to virtually halt funding Ukraine under President Donald Trump. There are presently two EU proposals aimed at supplying Ukraine with €90bn, to finance a large portion of its budgetary necessities. One is to raise the money on the markets, secured against the EU budget as a collateral. This is Belgium's first choice but it requires a unanimous vote by EU leaders and that would be challenging when two member states object to funding Ukraine's military. The alternative is lending Ukraine cash from the frozen Russian funds, which were initially held in financial instruments but have now largely matured into cash. That money is Euroclear property held in the European Central Bank. The EU's executive acknowledges Belgium has legitimate concerns and states it is assured it has dealt with them. The proposal is for Belgium to be shielded with a guarantee encompassing all the €210bn of Russian assets in the EU. Should Euroclear incur losses of its own assets in Russia, that would be offset from assets belonging to Russia's own settlement agency which are in the EU. Should Russia targeted Belgium itself, any ruling by a Russian court would not be recognized in the EU. In a significant move, EU ambassadors are expected to agree on Friday to freeze indefinitely Russia's central bank assets held in Europe for the foreseeable future. Previously they have had to vote all together every six months to extend the freeze, which could have meant a repeated risk to Belgium. The EU ambassadors are planning to use an emergency clause under Article 122 of the EU Treaties so the assets stay blocked as long as an "direct danger to the economic security of the union" continues. Why Belgium is Remains Convinced The Belgian government is firm it remains a staunch ally of Ukraine, but identifies regulatory pitfalls in the plan and fears being shouldering the repercussions if things fail. A typically partisan political environment in this case has united behind Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is under pressure from other European officials. "The Belgian economy is not large. Belgian GDP is approximately €565bn – consider if it would need to carry a €185bn bill," notes Veerle Colaert, academic specializing in financial regulation at KU Leuven University. Although the EU might be able to secure adequate assurances for the loan itself, Belgium is concerned about an additional danger of being subject to extra damages or penalties. Prof Colaert also contends the demand for Euroclear to provide a loan to the EU would contravene EU banking regulations. "Financial institutions need to adhere to prudential rules and shouldn't concentrate risk. Now the EU is instructing Euroclear to do precisely that. "What is the purpose of these bank rules? It's because we want banks to be secure. And if things go wrong it would become the responsibility of Belgium to rescue Euroclear. That's a further cause why it's so crucial for Belgium to get ironclad assurances for Euroclear." The European Union Under Pressure from Every Direction There is no time to lose, caution seven EU member states including those bordering Russia such as the Baltics, Finland and Poland. They maintain the frozen assets plan is "the most financially feasible and politically realistic solution". "This is a crucial test for us," warns leading German conservative MP Norbert Röttgen. "If the plan collapses, I don't know what we'll do next. That's why we have to finalize the deal in a week's time". While Russia is adamant its money should not be used, there are further worries among European figures that the US may want to use Russia's frozen billions in another way, as part of its own peace initiative. Zelensky has said Ukraine is in discussions with Europe and the US on a rebuilding fund, but he is also cognizant the US has been engaging with Russia about possible partnership. A preliminary version of the US peace plan referred to $100bn of Russia's immobilized capital being used by the US for reconstruction, with the US {taking|receiving