Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Poland are urging Brussels to unblock more than 200 billion euros of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine.
The four-country coalition is drafting a letter to the European Commission requesting a restart of technical and legal work on a mechanism to deploy the assets, according to a report by the Financial Times. The group is also seeking alternative technical and legal solutions to overcome persistent opposition from Belgium.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said that now is the time to start a new discussion on how to further use frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine and the European Union itself. A source familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the four nations are effectively asking the EU executive to conduct the technical work needed to reduce budgetary demands on Kyiv.
The European Commission functions as the executive arm of the 27-nation bloc, managing EU policy proposals and financial planning from its headquarters in Brussels. Most of the immobilized Russian central bank assets are held at Euroclear, a financial settlement provider headquartered in Belgium.
Legal risks and opposition in Brussels
A previous attempt to implement the plan failed due to resistance from Belgium, where officials fear legal retaliation from Moscow and severe financial risks. Authorities in Brussels are concerned that if Russian lawsuits succeed in court, Belgium alone could be forced to bear responsibility for returning the assets.
An EU official familiar with internal discussions said that no one has yet proposed a new option that would not face the same political barriers that existed in December. However, the official added that legal proposals could be refined and might have a chance of adoption if political conditions change.
Ukraine has long called on the EU to use frozen Russian assets to finance its defense. Profits from funds held at Euroclear are already being directed to support a loan of up to 50 billion euros for Ukraine agreed in 2024. EU countries also agreed a 90 billion euro loan backed by the bloc budget last year as an alternative, but Stenergard stated that this funding is obviously not enough.
EU budget negotiations and Belgian warnings
The new initiative comes amid broader discussions over the next seven-year budget of the European Union. Diplomats believe that additional funding for Ukraine could become part of those negotiations, increasing pressure on EU member states to find new revenue sources.
The proposal follows earlier efforts within the bloc to revisit the issue. In May, the Netherlands sought to resume discussion on using up to 210 billion euros in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine and finance its defense in 2027. However, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever warned in January that full confiscation of Russian state assets immobilized within the EU would be an act of war.
Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation Maxime Prévot recently stated that Belgium sees no readiness among other countries to share the risks of confiscation. Prévot proposed using the immobilized assets as leverage in negotiations with Russia instead.
