In an interview with VRT News the head of the international clearing house Euroclear, Valérie Urbain has said that while Russian assets are indeed strategically interesting that they would be better as a bargaining chip in peace negotiation rather than for a loan to Ukraine.
Euroclear’s CEO Valérie Urbain told VRT News that the Russian assets represent around 10% to 15% of Russia's GDP and that only the EU has the power to release them. However, she warns that “At this stage, it would be better to use this money for peace negotiations rather than developing an extremely complex and legally risky construction and then losing this leverage in the negotiations.”
As the main custodian of Russian funds, the Euroclear CEO is also concerned about the possibility of the company becoming insolvent if sanctions against Russia are lifted at some point, Russia demands its money back and Europe has already spent it. “This proposal has implications for the viability of Euroclear and for the European economy as a whole”
The European Commission's proposal to use 185 billion euro in frozen Russian assets for a billion-euro loan to Ukraine is meeting with fierce resistance in Belgium.
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is travelling to Brussels on Friday for a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also take part in the talks.