Belgium is demanding “independent” and “autonomous” guarantees from EU countries in return for its support for a floated loan to Ukraine using immobilised Russian assets, according to documents seen by Euractiv.

The texts, which are currently being discussed by EU ambassadors, come amid frantic efforts by the bloc to persuade Belgium to back the so-called “reparations loan” ahead of a crunch European Council summit in Brussels next week.

Euroclear, a Brussels-based securities depository, houses the vast majority of the €210 billion in frozen assets that would be harnessed to support Kyiv’s war effort, making Belgium the key player in EU negotiations.

In a raft of amendments to the Commission’s legal proposal, which was first circulated to EU ambassadors last week, Belgium notes that the guarantees must be “independent and autonomous so that they remain in place even if the loan would be considered void”.

Other key demands made by Belgium include that other EU states cover potential legal costs brought by Moscow against any member state; that EU capitals do not conclude new investment treaties with Russia, and abolish any current ones; and numerous other measures to protect Belgium against potential retaliation from Moscow.

Luxembourg and Belgium concluded a bilateral investment treaty with the then USSR in 1989, which was never renounced to this day.

Belgian PM De Wever pushes back on EU efforts to indefinitely freeze Russian assets

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has poured cold water on the EU’s push to…

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Belgian PM De Wever pushes back on EU efforts to indefinitely freeze Russian assets

Furthermore, it demands that Euroclear itself “shall not be liable” for the provision of the reparations loan, and that its “directors shall only incur liability in case of gross negligence”.

Russia’s central bank announced it would file a lawsuit against Euroclear in a Moscow court earlier on Friday.

Belgium has repeatedly criticised the Commission for continuing to pursue the loan scheme and has urged other EU countries to support issuing joint debt instead. However, this latter option is currently being blocked by Hungary, which is also fiercely opposed to the loan scheme.

While Belgium has repeatedly been accused of stonewalling EU efforts to implement the loan, the amendments could signal that Belgium is indeed engaging on the issue.

The article has been updated.

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