Italy, Bulgaria, and Malta have joined Belgium’s calls for alternatives to a €210 billion loan scheme to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, in a move that threatens to torpedo the EU’s goal of agreeing the so-called ‘reparations loan’ at next week’s crunch EU summit.

In a joint declaration, seen by Euractiv, the four countries said they supported the European Commission’s recent proposal to indefinitely immobilise Moscow’s sovereign funds held in the EU, but cautioned that the move should not “pre-empt” any potential use of the cash to support Kyiv’s war effort. The Commission pushed to immobilise the reserves indefinitely in order to avoid continuing to rely on Hungary’s Russia-friendly government to renew the measures every six months.

The countries also invited “the Commission and the Council to continue exploring and discussing alternative options in line with EU and international law, with predictable parameters, presenting significantly less risks, to address Ukraine’s financial needs, based on an EU loan facility or bridge solutions, so as to ensure continuity of support before any of the options on the table can effectively enter into force.”

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has long called for alternatives to the reparations loan, which he has denounced as “fundamentally wrong” and claimed poses numerous legal and financial risks.

EU envoys formally voted on Friday to indefinitely immobilise the assets based on an emergency provision of the EU treaties.

Use of “Article 122” is critical to avoid the Moscow’s funds being returned to Russia if sanctions on the Kremlin are lifted – which could leave Belgium on the hook to repay hundreds of billions of euros to Moscow.

Euroclear, the Brussels-based clearing house, holds the vast majority of the €210 billion in assets earmarked for the loan.

Both Hungary and Belgium warned this week that the Commission’s decision to rely on Article 122 risks breaching EU law. Euroclear, Hungary and Belgium have also repeatedly questioned the legality of the loan scheme and warned that it could undermine the financial stability of the euro area – points also emphasised by the European Central Bank.

Invoking Article 122 allows a “qualified majority” of EU member states – 15 countries representing 65% of the bloc’s population – to freeze Moscow’s assets permanently. Currently, sanctions on assets must be renewed unanimously by all 27 member states every six months.

The move removes a crucial bargaining chip for Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who has repeatedly sought to extract concessions from EU leaders by threatening not to extend the sanctions – although he has always ultimately backed down.

In the statement, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and Belgium warned that the use of Article 122 “implies legal, financial, procedural, and institutional consequences that might go well beyond this specific case” and that Friday’s decision should not “constitute precedent” for the bloc’s security and foreign policy, which typically requires unanimity.

EU envoys will also meet on Sunday to discuss the loan ahead of next week’s Council, where they will seek to address Belgium’s numerous amendments to the Commission’s legal proposal.

The demands include “independent” and “autonomous” guarantees from EU countries and the requirement that Euroclear itself “shall not be liable” for the provision of the reparations loan, according to documents seen by Euractiv.

The Commission declined to comment.