'An act of war': Belgian PM Wever issues stark warning on seizing frozen Russian assets

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said late on Thursday that Europe confiscating almost €200 billion of frozen Russian assets would be “an act of war”.

According to a Politico report, speaking after a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels, he warned that the move would carry “systemic risks to the entire financial world system” and spark retaliation from Moscow.

De Wever’s warning comes as European countries, including France, the UK, and Spain, are increasingly inclined to seize Russian assets that were frozen following President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The proposal aims to utilise these funds to enhance Ukraine’s defence and improve its position in peace negotiations with Russia.

Belgium, however, has significant stakes in the matter since Euroclear, the financial institution managing most of the frozen assets in Europe, is headquartered in Brussels.

The country is concerned that transferring the funds to Ukraine could expose Euroclear to additional legal claims from the asset holders, reported Politico.

Euroclear is currently involved in legal disputes with various parties who are leveraging Russia’s highly politicised courts to contest the withholding of their assets and seek compensation.

“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,” Politico quoted De Wever as saying.

Last year, G7 countries agreed to use the profits generated from frozen assets, rather than the assets themselves, to provide a €50 billion loan to Ukraine.

However, several countries are advocating for a more ambitious approach. Earlier this month, French lawmakers endorsed a nonbinding resolution urging the EU to seize these assets to aid Ukraine.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also expressed support for this option during a private meeting of EU leaders on March 6, reported Politico, citing multiple EU diplomats.

De Wever cautioned fellow leaders to refrain from publicly “representing the frozen and immobilised assets like 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 … because it’s just not that simple.”

With inputs from agencies