Merz Will Personally Persuade Belgium To Provide 165 Billion Euros To Ukraine
5- 4.12.2025, 20:26
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The German chancellor is set to meet with the Belgian prime minister.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is traveling to Brussels to convince Belgium to support 165 billion euros for Ukraine from Russian assets.
This is reported by Politico.
That is, it became known that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz canceled a planned trip to Oslo in order to personally join talks between Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen regarding the EU's ambitious plan to finance Ukraine.
This plan calls for a €165 billion reparation loan to Kiev, formed from the proceeds of frozen Russian state assets, much of which are held in Belgium. The European Commission estimates that Ukraine's financial reserves could run out as early as spring 2026.
Belgium's role in this process is key, as it has the largest amount of frozen Russian assets in Europe through the Euroclear depository system.
Prime Minister de Wever expresses serious concerns about legal and financial risks:
the possibility of Russian retaliation both domestically and internationally;
the risk of lawsuits from the Kremlin based on the 1989 bilateral investment treaty between Belgium and the USSR;
requirement that other EU financial institutions holding Russian assets provide the same guarantees as Euroclear.
The Kremlin has also repeatedly threatened. In particular, Russian Vice President Dmitry Medvedev has said that the use of frozen Russian assets could provoke corresponding consequences for Brussels.
The European Commission is easing Belgium's legal concerns, but without de Wever's support, the plan cannot be implemented. Diplomats are already revising the legal texts of the document to remove all caveats, and Merz is personally seeking to convince the Belgian prime minister of the safety and feasibility of the initiative.
It should be noted that EU leaders will meet in Brussels on December 18 to discuss Ukraine's financing. If there is no compromise, member states will have to look for alternative sources of funds, including state budgets.
The German chancellor stressed that the discussions should start immediately and be completed quickly to ensure Ukraine's financial stability and its continued defense against Russian aggression.
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