Belgium delivered a major setback to European efforts to continue financing Ukraine on Wednesday, rejecting a European Commission proposal for a €140 billion loan backed by frozen Russian Central Bank assets held in European institutions. The decision places the entire plan in jeopardy and raises new questions about how the European Union will continue to support Kiev as financial pressures deepen.
Belgian officials said the proposal carried unacceptable risks to the country’s financial system, particularly because Euroclear, a Belgium-based clearinghouse, holds the largest share of frozen Russian reserves. Estimates place Russia’s immobilized assets in Europe at between €275 and €300 billion, with roughly €200 billion believed to be sitting inside Euroclear alone. Belgian authorities warned that using those assets as loan collateral could trigger legal action from Moscow that Brussels might ultimately lose, undermining market confidence.
After Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in 2022, EU leaders froze Russian sovereign assets and later began seizing the interest generated by those funds to support Kiev. However, with Ukraine’s economy deteriorating and American financial support reduced under President Donald Trump, EU leaders have faced growing pressure to tap the principal itself. Belgium’s resistance has now become the main obstacle.
Despite the rejection, EU leaders plan to revisit the issue at a December 18 summit, where member states may still attempt a vote on the proposal. Approval would require at least 15 of the 27 EU members. Diplomats say the legal uncertainty and political divisions make passage unlikely.
In Kiev, the Belgian decision immediately cast a shadow over Ukraine’s 2026 budget, which the Verkhovna Rada passed on Wednesday with a $20 billion shortfall. Ukrainian officials had counted on the frozen Russian funds to help close the gap. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko warned that total funding needs for 2026 amount to roughly $45 billion, a figure Europe may not be able to meet without seizing Russian sovereign assets—something Belgium insists could destabilize the European financial system.