Belgian Prime Minister on frozen Russian assets: “We need a parachute and all jump together.”

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stressed again, Thursday, that Brussels cannot bear “alone” the risks of using Russian assets frozen on its territory for a loan from the European Union to Ukraine, anticipating this position of an EU summit to discuss this issue. “We need a parachute before we jump,” he said. If we jump, we all jump together,” he said, demanding guarantees from all other European Union member states to share risks in the event of problems. Belgium fears that Russia will take retaliatory measures, both economic and legal, against it, as the Euroclear financial institution, which is based in Brussels, manages the bulk of the Russian Central Bank’s frozen assets in Europe.