By KYIV. May 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo has announced his intention to develop a mechanism for the confiscation of proceeds from frozen Russian assets in order to send them to help Ukraine.
A mechanism for the confiscation of proceeds from frozen assets is being considered, he said at a Thursday press briefing in The Hague following the talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.
He also said that the mechanism will only be based on the law and Belgium will take steps together with the European Commission to create such a legal framework.
The prime minister recalled that in March last year, Belgium seized EUR 197 million in proceeds from Russian assets.
This money is used only to support Ukraine and to help Ukrainian refugees, the prime minister said, adding that the assets should be not only frozen but also confiscated.
According to De Croo, since the start of the full-scale war, Belgium froze EUR 58 billion of Russian assets, including that of the Russian Central Bank. Today Belgium is exploring how it can use the proceeds from these assets to support Ukraine’s recovery, he said.
According to Zelenskyy, “the problem concerns not only Belgium, but also the laws of those countries that will freeze funds. What has been achieved now is not enough. Even the World Bank says that we will need more than 400 billion.”
