The letter reflects the long-standing concerns of the Belgian Prime Minister, Bart De Wever, regarding legal and financial consequences for his country.
Euroclear is issuing a stern warning to the European Union about the disastrous consequences for the European economy from the seizure of Russian assets.
In a scathing letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President António Costa, Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain warns that European governments will face higher borrowing costs if the plan proceeds to utilize the frozen Russian assets to back a €140 billion loan to Ukraine. As stated in the same letter, such a move would be seen as "seizure" outside the EU and would cause intense concern among investors in European government bonds.
The EU has frozen approximately €210 billion of Russian state assets following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, of which approximately €185 billion is held at Euroclear. Negotiations for peace in Ukraine have renewed pressure for an agreement on the terms for the €140 billion loan to Kyiv, using the frozen Russian state assets.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on Wednesday (26/11/2025) in the European Parliament that the Commission "is ready to present a legal text" for a loan supported by the frozen assets. However, the loan plan remains controversial, and many technical details remain unresolved.
Euroclear's letter
In its letter to von der Leyen and EU Council President António Costa, Euroclear warned that the so-called "compensation loan" risks damaging the attractiveness of European financial markets and the investment climate in Europe.
"The resulting risk premium will lead to a permanent increase in the spreads of European government bonds, raising the borrowing costs for all member states," writes Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain in the letter.
Urbain points out that the initiative is harming investment on the continent, "as investors, particularly sovereign wealth funds and central banks, will view this initiative as equivalent to seizure of central bank reserves, undermining the rule of law."
In contrast, the European Commission has argued that the proposed plan does not constitute a seizure, while admitting there is a risk of it being perceived as such.
Urbain argued that Euroclear's obligation to invest in "zero-interest specially configured securities" to implement the plan would be considered a seizure by Russia, leading to retaliation and potential legal challenges for which Euroclear would need to be covered. "This will lead to compensation from EU member states to Euroclear, resulting in financial exposure for the member states," Urbain wrote. She added that the plan must include undeniable, readily available guarantees to cover Euroclear "as long as legal exposure exists." This would include risks of retaliation from Russia and other countries, liquidity risks, and "any other relevant risk from participating in the security."
Belgium's fears
The letter reflects the long-standing concerns of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever regarding legal and financial consequences for his country. Belgium wants to ensure that other governments also share the risks and include assets that have been immobilized in their territory.
Since EU leaders failed to agree on the loan at the last Summit in October, von der Leyen has also proposed the idea of providing bilateral grants or issuing new debt to finance Ukraine, if an agreement on how to use the frozen Russian assets is not reached.
However, the new peace initiative for Ukraine by US President Donald Trump, which initially proposed that the frozen assets be used in US-led investment funds in Ukraine and Russia, has increased pressure on the EU to decide on the loan proposal.
Both the Commission and the majority of EU countries hope to reach an agreement on the loan, which requires unanimous approval, at the next leaders' meeting in Brussels on December 18.
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