European officials held late-night talks with the Belgian government, trying to secure agreement on financing Ukraine using Russia’s frozen assets, but Brussels insists on additional guarantees, Politico reports.
Source: PRYAMYI
The diplomatic meeting originally scheduled for December 14 was postponed by one day to allow Belgium to thoroughly review the compromise text prepared by the European Commission.
According to Politico, the latest version of the document includes three key guarantees for Belgium. In particular, Brussels will have access to funding across the entire package in the event of possible retaliatory actions by Russia.
Belgium is also guaranteed the functioning of the security system regardless of the total amount of financial obligations. At the same time, the document clearly states that funds will not be transferred to Ukraine until all guarantees come into effect.
A separate point stipulates the commitment of all EU countries to terminate bilateral investment agreements with Russia.
According to diplomats, the Belgian side does not want to assume “disproportionate risks” and considers the proposed guarantees insufficient, demanding additional safeguards from the EU.
The process of finding a compromise continues. One official emphasized that the work is focused specifically on the reparations mechanism, as there is currently no alternative solution, and an agreement is only a matter of time.
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