We know that there are extensive amounts of Russian money in other countries, which have been silent about this, claims Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever at the ongoing EU summit.
If we act, everyone must act together. That's what European solidarity looks like.
It is well known that Belgium holds the majority, around 2,000 billion Swedish kronor, of the assets that have been frozen with reference to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. The assets are held by the financial institution Euroclear in Brussels.
But in addition to these, equivalent to 309 billion kronor has been frozen in Japan, just over 290 billion kronor in the United Kingdom and 210 billion kronor in France. Smaller amounts have also been frozen in Canada, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the USA and Germany, according to an investigation conducted by the EU Parliament's research service, and also reported by Politico.
In total, equivalent to 3,150 billion kronor in Russian assets have been frozen globally.
However, there are conflicting reports. Belgian representatives claim that six EU countries hold state Russian assets, not four as in the EU Parliament's investigation.
Bart De Wever's hesitation towards the idea that the EU uses frozen assets as security for interest-free loans to Ukraine is based on a fear of future Russian claims for damages. He has also emphasized that the euro could be threatened as a global reserve currency.
