Von der Leyen: Belgium cannot bear risks of Russian asset plan alone

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said Belgium should not be the only country to carry the risks of using frozen Russian assets to back a loan for Ukraine.

Speaking after an informal EU summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday, Von der Leyen stressed that any risks linked to the plan must be shared across member states. “It is absolutely clear that Belgium cannot be the only one bearing the risks,” she said.

The Commission has proposed granting Ukraine a 140 billion euro “recovery loan” backed by frozen Russian assets, most of which are held at Euroclear in Brussels. Belgium has long raised concerns about the legal and financial dangers of such a move.

Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever repeated his government’s “legal and technical concerns” during the talks. He has also insisted that Belgium will not drop its demand that risks be pooled among all EU members.

Von der Leyen said the leaders had a “good first discussion” and confirmed that the proposal would need to be developed further. 

The topic was only briefly discussed at the Copenhagen summit, which focused mainly on European defence. Leaders are expected to return to the issue at the next EU summit in Brussels on 23-24 October.

^{Ursula von der Leyen © Ida Marie Odgaard / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP}