Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever has warned that Europe’s attempts to seize Russian financial assets constitute an “act of war” and risk undermining the eurozone’s financial stability.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22, de Wever stated: “We are not at war with Russia. Europe is not at war with Russia. You can’t just confiscate money. This is an act of war. Don’t underestimate this. This has never happened: immobilized money has never been confiscated, even during World War II.”
The Belgian leader emphasized that such actions would have “serious consequences for Europe, for the credibility of the eurozone financial system.” He further explained: “There is no free money. Everything that seems simple is actually very difficult… If assets are confiscated and spent, then at some point they will have to be reimbursed, and then a big problem will arise.”
The remarks follow legal challenges from Russia’s Central Bank against Belgium’s Euroclear system. On January 16, an arbitration court began hearing the Central Bank’s claim for 18.2 trillion rubles against Euroclear. In December 2023, Elvira Nabiullina, chairman of the Bank of Russia, indicated that her institution was exploring legal protections in international courts to enforce its interests across borders. Euroclear has since declared its readiness to defend itself in Russian courts regarding the blocking of Russian assets.
European Commission official Paula Pinho stated that the EU remains confident in the legality of using frozen Russian assets under current frameworks.
