Belgian citizens have expressed support for their government's reiterated opposition to using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine during the recent European Council summit, which concluded on Friday.
During the two-day summit, EU leaders still failed to reach an agreement on the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, and instead had to move forward with a joint borrowing plan involving a group of countries to provide loans to Ukraine.
This outcome represents a setback to the EU's desired image of unity, but for Belgium, it marks a victory in its firm opposition to tapping frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine.
After the Ukraine crisis escalated in February 2022, Western countries moved to freeze roughly 300 billion U.S. dollars in overseas assets belonging to Russia's central bank, with most of that amount located in Europe. European Commission data put the total frozen inside the EU at about 210 billion euros (about 246 billion U.S. dollars).
Around 90 percent of the frozen assets in the EU are held via Euroclear, the Brussels-based international central securities depository. The pool generates about 3 billion euros in interest per year.
As the jurisdiction where the vast majority of the EU's frozen Russian assets are held, Belgium reaffirmed its firm opposition. Public opinion has provided a solid foundation for the government's stance.
A recent joint survey conducted by major Belgian media outlets showed that as many as 67 percent of Belgians oppose the plan.
Many believe the government should not agree to use these funds, citing financial and legal risks as well as uncertainties surrounding Ukraine peace talks as their core reasons for opposition.
A particular concern is that Belgian taxpayers could ultimately bear the cost of high compensation if Russia were to pursue claims in the future. "If they decide to do something like that and after that they receive the answer of Russia, maybe they put in not a great situation, but in a risk situation to Belgian people, or to Belgian government," said Eduardo, a local resident in Brussels.
"It could be apparently bad. So as a Belgian, we don't want to have problems for us, like financial problems for us," another local resident Robert said.
Many Belgian residents have said that using the assets to aid Ukraine would escalate the conflict, further jeopardizing the lives and safety of countless others.
"As I think it's going to escalate. This war has been going on for three years already. They haven't solved a thing, they just keep killing people," said Milly, a Belgian.
Belgian public backs gov't stance against using Russian assets to aid Ukraine
