The Ukrainian government had hoped to receive the funds in early 2026. At the Brussels summit, a proposal to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets (about €190 billion) to finance a loan to Ukraine ran into resistance from Belgium. Since the vast majority of these assets are held at the Brussels-based central depository Euroclear, Belgium fears becoming a prime target for legal action and financial countermeasures by Russia.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever said his country needs absolute clarity on the legal basis for such a move and the potential risks to the euro, as well as guarantees from other countries that the money can be returned if necessary.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, although he had earlier supported the loan, acknowledged that Belgium had raised “some very serious questions” that needed to be addressed.
The lack of a solution jeopardizes plans to fund Ukraine’s defense and budgetary needs. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the summit, noted the critical importance of obtaining funding in early 2026.
EU leaders now plan to revisit the issue at their next summit on December 18.
The idea behind the “reparation loan” is not to confiscate Russia’s frozen assets directly, which is a legally complex process, but to use them as collateral. The assumption is that the future revenues that these assets generate (e.g., interest) would be used to repay the loan to Ukraine now. This would allow Kiev to obtain a significant amount of funds for urgent needs without waiting for the war to end and full-fledged reparations from Russia.
