This cash buffer would come on top of financial guarantees that EU countries would provide against the €210 billion loan to protect Belgium from paying back the full amount if the Kremlin claws back the money.
In its list of amendments to the Commission, Belgium even suggested increasing the guarantees to cover potential legal disputes and settlements — an idea that is opposed by many governments.
Belgium’s demands come as EU leaders prepare to descend on Brussels on Dec. 18 to try and secure Ukraine’s ability to finance its defences against Russia. As things stand, Kyiv’s war chest will run bare in April. Failure to use the Russian assets to finance the loan would force EU capitals to reach into their own pockets to keep Ukraine afloat. But frugal countries are politically opposed to shifting the burden to EU taxpayers.
Belgium is the main holdout over financing Ukraine using the Russian assets, amid fears that it will be on the hook to repay the full amount if Moscow manages to claw its money back.
The bulk of this revenue is currently being funneled to Ukraine to pay down a €45 billion loan from G7 countries, with Euroclear retaining a 10 percent buffer to cover legal risks. | Artur Widak/Getty Images
In its list of suggested changes, Belgium asked the EU to set aside an unspecified amount of money to protect Euroclear from the risk of Russian retaliation. It said that the safety net will account for “increased costs which Euroclear might suffer (e.g. legal costs to defend against retaliation)” and compensate for lost revenue.
According to the document, the extra cash buffer should be financed by the windfall profits that Euroclear collects in interest from a deposit account at the European Central Bank, where the Kremlin-sanctioned money is currently sitting. The proceeds amounted to €4 billion last year.
The bulk of this revenue is currently being funneled to Ukraine to pay down a €45 billion loan from G7 countries, with Euroclear retaining a 10 percent buffer to cover legal risks. In order to better protect Euroclear, Belgium wants to raise this threshold over the coming years.