Merz ready to make concession to Belgium to approve decision on Russian assets – DPA
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has agreed to grant access to Russian central bank assets frozen in Germany in order to meet Belgium's demand for providing a multibillion reparation loan to Ukraine.
Source: German press agency DPA, citing sources from the EU summit in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Large amounts of Russian state assets are frozen in the EU. Most of these funds are held by the Belgian financial company Euroclear.
So far, the EU has used only the proceeds from these funds to finance a €50 billion loan package for Ukraine.
Germany has long argued that the €185 billion managed by Euroclear should be used first. A much smaller amount is frozen in Germany itself. The German government is keeping the exact figure secret, but German media estimate it at around €200 million.
Belgium has not wanted to take the risk of becoming the target of possible Russian retaliatory measures.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has said that he insists on three conditions for using Russian assets, including the use of frozen Russian assets located in other states for reparation loans.
According to DPA, at the summit in Brussels, Merz promised to grant access to Russian assets in Germany.
The publication notes that this is the first time the German chancellor has expressed his position so clearly.
However, it is also noted that this was expected, because Merz has been the most active proponent in Europe of the idea of a reparation loan for Ukraine.
Background:
- It was previously reported that after the first round of talks at the EU summit, German government circles expressed optimism that the heads of state and government would agree on using frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists that it is more advantageous for Europe to provide financial assistance to Ukraine, because otherwise the risk of the war spreading to the EU will sharply increase.
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