“The confiscation of the Russian assets would hit the credibility of the euro very much,” warns the head of diplomacy in Belgium
Euro banknotes. Photo: Richard Lewisohn / Imagesource / Profimedia
The confiscation of frozen Russian assets in Europe, most of which is in Belgium, would cause a “terrible systemic shock” to destabilize the euro, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, warned AFP, according to News.ro.
Such a confiscation “could generate a terrible systemic shock on all European financial markets and would hit the credibility of the euro,” Maxime Prévot said in an interview with AFP.
The confiscation of the assets of the Russian central bank, of which 210 billion is in Belgium under the control of the Euroclear financial institution, is requested by several EU Member States, including the Baltic countries. They claim that this measure would allow the financing of European support to Ukraine, at no cost for the European taxpayer, at a time when many very indebted EU countries seek to save.
But other countries, such as Germany or France, oppose this measure, as well as the European Central Bank (ECB), fearing a leakage of capital and a destabilization of the euro.
According to Maxime Prévot, there is a risk that the countries that placed billions in Europe simply leave, saying: “If it is so easy to confiscate these goods tomorrow (…), then I will move them elsewhere.”
However, the 27 states of the European Union have decided to use not the capital, but the interest generated by these assets, ie several billion euros per year, to help Ukraine.
After months of discussions, G7 leaders concluded an agreement in October 2024 to use the interest generated by these assets to guarantee a loan in favor of Ukraine, worth 45 billion euros.
The European Commission must present proposals on Russian assets by the end of October. “We will wait to see what will be proposed and put on the table,” Minister Prévot commented with caution.
