– SIERAKOWSKI FREDERIC / COUNCIL OF THE EU – Archive
BRUSSELS, December 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever warned shortly before the start of the summit of EU heads of state and government in Brussels that conditions are still not ripe for him to reverse his refusal to use the liquidity of Russian assets frozen on Belgian soil to finance a reparation loan to Ukraine of at least 90 billion euros, in order to cover financial and military needs for the next two years.
“I can say that everyone I spoke to on the phone understands that our conditions are reasonable, that it is not a question of sabotage. They know that it is constructive, that it is reasonable, that it is not a question of torpedoing the reparation loan or of sabotaging Europe”, explained De Wever before the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs of the Belgian Parliament.
“I have not yet seen any text that convinces me to change Belgium’s position. I hope to see it today, but so far it has not happened,” said during the session the Flemish politician and leader of the N-VA, who continues to plead to avoid resorting to the liquidity of assets immobilized by EU sanctions and to provide urgent aid to kyiv through the issuance of Eurobonds, with the budget of the European Union as a guarantee.
The ultranationalist leader thanked the broad support of the political forces in the chamber, who support the position of the coalition government to reject the patrimonial option as long as Belgium does not obtain all the guarantees it requires to ensure the mutualization of the financial and legal risks that the country would face in the event of the use of Russian assets.
Although he avoided detailing what was discussed with other leaders during the weeks of negotiations because they were “discreet” conversations, De Wever insisted he found understanding among most of them and said some leaders shared with him that if the assets in question were on their territory, they would also voice similar reservations.
“Even those who are 100% in favor of the repair loan understand this. No one has told me what we read in the international press that I am the best ‘Russian asset’. Everyone understands my role”, he defended to the deputies, before emphasizing that Belgium is not “isolated”, nor the only country to have doubts, and that he believes that if this option were to decline, “certain countries could switch” towards the second option, that of resorting to the markets Europeans to finance the loan.
When asked if he thought he could form a blocking minority with other partners in case adoption of the measure was considered despite Belgium’s refusal, De Wever admitted that he did not know if this scenario would happen, but that he hoped a solution would be found sooner and that he would not have to propose this scenario. “I hope we never know, that would be a shame. Is it impossible? No. But I can’t say (what would happen),” he stressed.
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