Media: EU May “Isolate” Belgium if It Blocks Reparations Loan

The European Union began to consider a tougher approach to Belgium, which opposes the idea of paying Ukraine a “reparation loan” from frozen Russian assets. In particular, European officials do not rule out ignoring the Belgian government headed by Bart De Wever. This was reported by Politico, according to European Pravda. The publication states that De Wever has been resisting the plan to finance the loan with frozen Russian assets, which are mainly located in Belgium, for so long that diplomats from all EU countries are now developing strategies to convince him to support the idea. De Wever fears that Belgium will find itself in a difficult position if the money has to be returned, and is now asking for additional security measures. He wants the EU to provide an additional cash reserve on top of financial guarantees and enhanced security measures to cover potential legal disputes and settlements – an idea that many European governments oppose. Belgium has sent a list of amendments to the European Commission’s proposal that it wants to make to ensure that it will not have to pay the money to Russia on its own if the sanctions are lifted. De Wever has said he will not support the reparations loan if his concerns are not addressed.