Belgium refuses to confiscate Russian assets

Belgium abandons decision to confiscate frozen assets of Russia

Belgium did not support the proposal to full confiscation of frozen Russian assets, in particular through own economic benefit.
According to the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, country generates about €1.2 billion in revenue annually from taxes paid on the income of these assets.

We are talking about about €140 billion of Russian funds, frozen on the accounts Euroclear - one of the largest financial institutions in Europe.

«This is a significant amount of money that is already flowing into the Belgian budget. The government plans to use part of it to finance military needs,» the article says.

Why Belgium is blocking the decision

According to journalists, the Belgian authorities oppose full confiscation of assets, because he fears legal consequences and lawsuits from foreign investors.
In addition, The EU has not yet developed a single mechanism, which would allow for the legal withdrawal of frozen Russian funds.

Instead Brussels proposes utilise only the income from these assets, This allows us to receive about €1.2 billion annually.

Context.

The issue of confiscation of Russian assets remains a key one in discussions between EU countries.
On the eve of EU postpones final decision until December, after Belgium and several other states requested additional legal guarantees.

Ukraine insists that Frozen assets should be transferred to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure and compensation for war damage.