De Wever says no agreement on Ukraine funding deal would be a disaster for Europe
Failing to reach an agreement on funding for Ukraine would be “the biggest possible disaster for Europe”, prime minister Bart De Wever said on Thursday during a parliamentary debate.
De Wever is expected to attend a European summit in Brussels on Thursday, starting at 10:00, where EU leaders will decide on Ukraine’s funding for the next two years. Speaking to the Advisory Committee on European Affairs, De Wever received broad cross-party backing and explicitly thanked the opposition for its support.
He warned that Belgium should not lose sight of its own position in the negotiations. “At the end of the day, we all win if there’s a good agreement,” De Wever said. Belgium has reservations about using Russian assets for reparations, which he described as “legally precarious”. “But if the risks are fully mutualised and sealed off for our country, we’ll jump into that abyss with all Europeans and hope the parachute holds us.”
Long-term fallout
The alternative, which would see Ukraine collapse if no agreement is reached, would be “the geopolitical disaster for Europe that we’ll feel for decades to come”, he said. “From then on, we’ll no longer be a global player; you can question whether we’re still doing that today.”
Belgium continues to favour a joint loan, De Wever said. “But if we don’t get through this, not with option one or option two [a reparations loan or a joint loan], and we have to part ways in chaos, then it’s over,” he said. “And there are already some geopolitical powers around us who would prefer this scenario.”
Europe being completely torn apart would be “catastrophic”, De Wever warned. “That’s a responsibility we must also bear in mind. But that doesn’t mean we can abandon the demands we’ve made. So I’d love to go out there with an agreement. And I’ll be the happiest person in the world if it involves a joint loan. Then I can look Zelensky in the eye and say that we’re on the right side and are willing to make sacrifices. Because none of the options are free money.”
EU leaders divided
De Wever’s call for a unified approach comes as EU leaders remain sharply divided over how to fund Ukraine. German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday that using blocked Russian assets was “the only option” to support Ukraine financially.
“We are faced with the choice of using European debt or Russian assets for Ukraine. In that case, my opinion is clear: we must use the Russian assets,” he said, adding that Europe needs to send “a signal of strength and determination” to Russia. While Merz acknowledged Belgian concerns about legal and financial risks, he said he believed a compromise was still possible.
The Netherlands shares that position. Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof said using Russian assets is “the preferred option” for his government, though he warned it would be “highly undesirable” to impose such a decision without Belgium’s consent, as it would “directly affect the Belgians”.
By contrast, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán reiterated his opposition to financial support for Kyiv, dismissing the funding mechanism as “dead”. He again described a loan for Ukraine as “a stupid idea”, arguing that the EU should not involve itself financially in a war between two states.
Prime minister Bart De Wever © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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