Belgium finds a new reason to block €140bn for Ukraine – this time, it cites the "peace plan"

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever told the European Commission that approval of a reparations loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets could prevent the signing of the peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. This is stated in his letter, cited by Financial Times and Reuters.

"Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as a collateral damage, that we as EU are effectively preventing reaching an eventual peace deal," he told the EU leadership.

In his letter, he describes the EU's proposed loan as "fundamentally wrong" and repeats the arguments that the Belgian depository Euroclear has made in your own separate letter to Ursula von der Leyen.

They argue that EU governments will face higher borrowing costs because of the loan, that it will be perceived outside the EU as a "confiscation," and that it could scare investors away from investing in European sovereign debt.

Instead, de Wever proposes to use the possibility of borrowing from the joint budget to provide Ukraine with €45 billion, an amount that the European Commission estimates will cover its financial needs in 2026.

"Such an option would, as a matter of fact, come cheaper than other options, in particular the option of reparations loan, if all risks are factored in," he wrote in a letter.

"When we talk about having skin in the game, we have to accept that it will be our skin in the game. Talk is cheap but helping Ukraine will unfortunately be expensive," he added.

• The idea of a "reparations loan" of up to €140 billion, based on the cash balances of Russian frozen assets, was put forward on September 10.
• Thanks to the "reparations loan", Ukraine could receive 45 billion euros annually over the next three years – from 2026 to 2028.
• october 23 EU postpones decision on the "reparations loan" until December.
• This decision determines the adoption of a new loan program between Ukraine and the IMF.