The European Commission has resumed work on options for using Russia's frozen assets to support Ukraine, in a renewed effort to overcome Belgium's veto on the issue, the Financial Times reported on September 11, citing two sources.
The push follows a call from Sweden in August to reopen the discussion. Sweden argued that using the frozen funds could cover Ukraine's financial needs without placing additional strain on the national budgets of European Union member states.
Special purpose vehicle under discussion
One option under consideration involves creating a special purpose vehicle, or SPV, to which both the frozen assets and their associated liabilities would be transferred. Under this plan, Belgium and the Belgian securities depository Euroclear, which holds a large share of the immobilised Russian central bank funds, would receive guarantees against legal risks tied to the assets.
EU officials have not yet settled on a specific technical solution, according to the report. They stressed that any proposal will require political support from all 27 member states, and Belgium in particular, since Brussels has repeatedly blocked earlier plans over concerns about legal liability.
One person familiar with the talks told the Financial Times that even if officials managed to pull a very impressive white rabbit out of a hat, it would not matter if there was no political will to use it.
Belgium's veto and the fallback plan
On December 19, 2025, Belgium's veto led the EU to reject a proposed reparations loan for Ukraine that would have relied on Russian assets. Instead, the bloc approved a fallback option, known as Plan B, to provide Ukraine with 90 billion euros through the issuance of Eurobonds.
Ukraine welcomed the Council of the European Union's decision at the time but said it viewed the Eurobond plan as an interim measure. Kyiv said it would keep pressing for the reparations loan to be implemented.
Background on frozen Russian assets
Western governments and the EU froze hundreds of billions of euros in Russian central bank assets after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, much of it held through Euroclear in Brussels. Belgium has repeatedly resisted proposals to seize or repurpose the assets directly, citing fears of legal challenges and financial retaliation against Euroclear.
In 2024, the Group of Seven nations agreed to use the interest earned on the frozen Russian assets as the basis for a loan to Ukraine, a step short of touching the underlying frozen capital itself.
The Commission has not indicated a timeline for presenting a final proposal on the new financing options.
