“Taking Putin’s money and leaving the risks with [Belgium]. That’s not going to happen,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said in New York. Most of the assets are held in Euroclear, a Brussels-based clearing house – making Belgium a key player in EU negotiations

“Taking Putin’s money and leaving the risks with [Belgium]. That’s not going to happen, let me be very clear about that,” Prime Minister Bart De Wever on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

“If countries see that central bank money can disappear if European politicians see fit, they might decide to withdraw their reserves from the eurozone,” he added.

  • Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    51·
    6 days ago

    The title is a bit odd given the content.

    In a thinly veiled barb at his German counterpart, De Wever called on fellow EU leaders to “talk and come up with something, rather than sharing an opinion every day”.

    “I find that quite frustrating,” he added.

    A Belgian official later clarified that Belgium is not categorically ruling out the Commission’s plan, but rather wants to see significantly more details before potentially agreeing. “We always look at the Commission’s proposals in a constructive and vigilant way,” the official said.

    So it’s more about a clear legal framework that has to be worked out to not “leaving the risks with Belgium” (which is quite understandable I would say). So leaving the risks with Belgium is what the prime minister says is not going happen, not the seizure of Russian assets,