Confiscation of €200 billion of frozen Russian assets would be act of war, Belgian PM says

Seizing almost €200 billion of Russia’s frozen assets in Europe would be an "act of war" and carry "systemic risks to the entire financial world system" and provoke retaliation from Moscow, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever warned, speaking after the EU leaders summit, according to Politico.

Belgium, home to Euroclear—the financial institution holding most of these assets—fears that transferring the funds to Ukraine could spark a wave of lawsuits from their owners.

"We’re not living in a world of fantasy. We’re in the real world, where if you take €200 billion from somebody there will be consequences," De Wever said. 

He urged fellow European leaders to avoid publicly framing the frozen assets as "Putin's little piggy bank that you can just break with a hammer and then take the money out and spend it on whatever you want," stressing that the issue isn’t that simple.

The debate comes amid broader discussions on using Russia’s frozen assets. On February 4, 2025, EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas called for "creative" ways to leverage these funds to aid Ukraine.

Three days later, reports emerged that Russia is drafting a law to confiscate foreign assets in response to the freezing of its own.

Meanwhile, Russia has floated allowing its $300 billion in frozen assets to be used for Ukraine’s recovery.