Russian assets: Merz travelling to Brussels on Friday for dinner with De Wever and Von der Leyen

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has postponed a planned trip to Oslo to meet with Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) and the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. The discussions are expected to centre on the Commission's proposal to utilise frozen Russian state assets, primarily held at Euroclear, as collateral for a loan to support Ukraine.

Belgium remains unconvinced by the Commission’s plan due to potential legal and financial risks, even after the draft legal texts were presented on Wednesday.

In an opinion piece published on the same day, Merz again urged the use of Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction, arguing that this would be "fully compatible with international law and our international obligations". He added that any risks must be shared by all EU member states and that this principle should be politically enshrined.

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He also stated that Belgium’s objections “must be addressed during the discussions on the concrete legislative texts. These need to begin immediately and be concluded swiftly.”

Belgium is demanding written guarantees from all member states that they will underwrite the operation should the funds ever need to be returned to Russia or compensation payments be required. Speaking at a lecture for French-speaking Catholics in Brussels earlier this week, De Wever noted that Germany was the only country so far to declare that it is prepared to guarantee "x per cent of the operation" and, if necessary, provide the required liquidity.

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MR president Georges-Louis Bouchez also spoke out. Speaking on RTBF radio on Thursday morning, the Francophone liberal called for "more guarantees regarding the monitoring of the money and weapons sent to Ukraine".

We cannot simply act on good intentions

Bouchez linked his demand for tighter oversight to "the corruption that exists in Ukraine". "This does not undermine our solidarity with Ukraine. It remains absolute. However, we cannot simply act on good intentions,” he said.

According to Bouchez, there is a risk that weapons will return to Western Europe “via criminal gangs”. He is therefore calling for proper traceability of armaments.

Like Foreign minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) and De Wever, he advocates financing Ukraine through a joint EU loan rather than using Russian state assets. "That is perfectly feasible," he said.

^{© BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND}