Initially, Belgium, where the Euroclear depository is headquartered and with which the Bank of Russia is currently engaged in legal disputes, as well as Hungary and Slovakia, opposed this decision. Subsequently, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic joined them. These countries emphasize the need to seek "alternative solutions" for financing Ukraine, including the possibility of issuing joint debt obligations.
At the EU summit scheduled for December 18 in Brussels, it is expected that António Costa, the President of the European Council, will make a final decision on whether the European Commission will continue to promote the asset seizure plan or abandon it.
It was previously reported that Japan rejected the EU's proposal to join the initiative to use Russian assets to secure a reparations loan. Moreover, the European Central Bank declined to provide a loan to Ukraine amounting to 140 billion euros, based on frozen Russian assets.
The frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia, totaling approximately 260 billion euros, have remained inaccessible in Western countries since February 2022. Of this amount, about 193 billion euros are held in Euroclear accounts in Belgium. Discussions about the possible use of part of these funds for payments to Ukraine have been ongoing among European states for nearly four years.
