Friedrich Merz, the federal chancellor of Germany, will travel to Brussels on Friday to meet with Belgian Prime Minister
Bart De Wever and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a bid to unblock the reparations loan to
The three will gather on Friday evening, a Commission spokesperson confirmed to Euronews. The location and format are
A spokesperson for Merz also confirmed the meeting, noting the last-minute change of plans had prompted the cancellation
of the chancellor's trip to Norway.
The sudden move represents Merz's most forceful intervention to make the bold proposal a reality and highlights the
exceptional stakes of the debate, with EU leaders set to meet in two weeks to make a final decision.
Under the unprecedented scheme, the Commission would channel the immobilised assets of the Russian Central Bank into a
zero-interest line of credit for Ukraine.
Kyiv would be asked to repay the loan only after Moscow agreed to compensate for the damages caused by its war of
aggression – a virtually unthinkable scenario.
The bulk of the assets, about €185 billion, are held at Euroclear, a central securities depository in Brussels. There
are €25 billion in other locations across the bloc.
This has made Belgium the most formidable opposition to the initiative.
Last week, De Wever penned a scathing letter to von der Leyen, lambasting the reparations loan as "fundamentally wrong"
and ridden with "multifold dangers" that could lead to multi-billion-euro losses for both Belgium and Euroclear.
"Why would we thus venture into uncharted legal and financial waters with all possible consequences, if this can be
avoided?" De Wever wrote.
"I will never commit Belgium to sustain on its own the risks and exposures that would arise from the option of (a)
De Wever also described the untested project as an obstacle to the White House's ongoing push to strike a deal between
"Hastily moving forward on the proposed reparations loan scheme would have, as collateral damage, that we, as the EU,
are effectively preventing reaching an eventual peace deal," the Belgian premier wrote.
De Wever's view directly clashes with that of Merz, who has been one of the most vocal advocates in favour of tapping
the immobilised Russian assets.
In an op-ed published on Wednesday, Merz insisted that all financial risks stemming from the reparations loan be "shared
collectively", with each member state handling an "equal share of the risk relative to its economic capacity".
"We must first agree on this principle politically, and then implement it through legally binding provisions. It would
be unacceptable for any single country to bear a disproportionate burden," Merz said.
"I fully understand, in particular, the concerns of the Belgian government, given that the majority of the frozen assets
are held there and that Brussels cannot rely solely on political assurances. These concerns must be addressed in the
forthcoming discussions on the legal texts. Those discussions must begin immediately and conclude swiftly."
Merz also pushed back against Russia and the United States for trying to use the immobilised assets for their own
commercial benefit in the original 28-point peace plan, which has since then been considerably amended.
"If we are serious about this, we cannot leave it to non-European states to decide what happens to the financial
resources of an aggressor state that have been lawfully frozen within the jurisdiction of our own rule-of-law and in our
His intervention happened as von der Leyen unveiled the legal texts necessary to establish the reparations loan and
begin payments to Ukraine in the second quarter of 2026, when foreign assistance is scheduled to run dry.
Von der Leyen offered sweeping guarantees to protect both Belgium and Euroclear.
The guarantees consist of bilateral contributions by member states, a backstop by the EU budget, safeguards against
legal retaliation and a new prohibition on transferring sovereign assets back to Russia, which would eliminate the
"We have created a very strong solidarity mechanism where in the very end the Union can intervene, because we want to
make very sure to all our member states, but specifically also to Belgium, that we will share the burden in a fair way,
as it is the European way," von der Leyen said.
In response, De Wever doubled down on his resistance, saying that the Commission's proposal fails to meet "the minimum
conditions" to secure his blessing.
"Therefore, this proposal cannot count on the approval of our government and our country," De Wever told the Belgian
"We loyally support Ukraine," he added, "and we are prepared to make sacrifices for that. But this country should not be
asked to do the impossible."
The clock is ticking fast for the bloc: EU leaders are meant to gather on 18 December for a make-or-break summit to
decide how to meet Ukraine's financial and military needs.
If the Belgian concerns persist and the reparations loan is discarded, the EU will have to resort to the financial
markets and raise €90 billion in joint debt.
This article has been updated with De Wever's most recent comments.