In an unprecedented move, the European Union approved this Friday freeze the 210 billion in perpetuity of Bank of Russia funds frozen in community territory since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
This is the first step to grant the Government of Volodímir Zelenski a ‘reparations loan’ (the initial amount of which will be 90,000 euros) from these Russian assets. kyiv would only have to return the money in the unlikely event that Moscow pays it war compensation.
To approve this permanent freeze, European governments have resorted to an emergency mechanism that allows decisions by qualified majority, thus circumventing Hungary’s veto. Víktor Orbánthe Kremlin’s main ally within the Union.
Until now, the blockade had to be renewed unanimously every 6 months and Budapest has already threatened on several occasions to revoke it. The release of Russian sovereign funds would immediately put the entire framework of the ‘reparations loan’ in check.
The surprising thing about the case is that in this Friday’s vote, Belgium has supported the indefinite freezing of the assets of the Bank of Russia.
However, it has published a statement in which it states that ““This vote does not in any way prejudge the decision on the possible use of frozen Russian assets, which must be adopted at the level of the leaders.” The declaration is also signed by Italy, Bulgaria and Malta, which until now had not expressed any reservations about the shipment of Russian assets to Ukraine.
The Belgian Prime Minister has so far blocked the ‘reparations loan’ to Ukraine for fear of becoming the priority target of Kremlin retaliation, since the majority of the frozen Russian funds (185,000) are in the Brussels-based company Euroclear.
In the end, The only ones who voted ‘no’ were Hungary and Slovakiaas reported by diplomatic sources.
“At the October summitEU leaders pledged to keep Russian assets frozen until Russia ends its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused. Today we fulfill that commitment,” wrote the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
The decision on the reparations loan must be adopted at the summit that will be held next Thursday, December 18 in Brussels. However, Costa himself has warned that the meeting could be extended until Friday or even Saturday.