Belgian PM confident EU will make no attempt to seize frozen Russian assets

De Wever made the comments in the Belgian Parliament on oct. 21.

De Wever said he was assured the European Commission would not put forward new proposals involving Russian assets to cover Ukraine’s financing needs.

However, he did not rule out attempts by other EU countries to return the issue to the agenda. De Wever criticized Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who recently said on the radio that he wanted to seize the money.

The Belgian PM said some of Europe’s newer leaders had not taken part in last year’s discussions and were now raising arguments he had rejected from the outset.

De Wever said he had warned his colleagues that even such statements could have legal consequences. That warning, he said, had an effect.

“One colleague told me in the corridor that I had gone through this discussion with a flamethrower,” the PM said, adding that no one at the table was still interested in pursuing the issue.

At the end of 2025, EU leaders stopped short of transferring frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. De Wever opposed a direct reparations loan. According to the Financial Times, French President Emmanuel Macron effectively killed the idea of using EUR210 billion ($248 billion), siding with opponents of a plan proposed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The United Kingdom also declined to use independently the $8 billion in Russian assets frozen there.