Merz to head to Brussels for Ukraine loan talks

December 05, 2025 / 1:21 AM

Sharjah 24 – WAM: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Brussels on Friday to try to overcome Belgian opposition to using frozen Russian assets held in Belgium to fund Ukraine in its fight against Russia, Berlin said.

A government spokesman said Thursday that Merz would attend a private dinner with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen instead of going to Oslo.

"I want to discuss... how we can advance my proposal, that the Commission has now converted into legal text," he told journalists on Thursday evening.

"I don't want to persuade him," he added, referring to De Wever, but "to convince him" that the way we are proposing is the right one for helping Ukraine.

Under the terms of the European Commission proposal, Germany would be one of the possible guarantor states for securing the assets, he said.

"My aim is not just to convince the Belgian government but also the European Council," he said.

Their next summit, on December 18 and 19, was the last chance this year to reach an agreement, he added. Most leaders back the EU scheme.

Belgian misgivings

European Union leaders have pledged to keep Kyiv afloat next year as Russia's punishing full-scale invasion drags towards a fourth year.

They are looking for ways to fund a loan to Kyiv which, under the proposal, would be paid back by any eventual Russian reparations to Ukraine.

Von der Leyen, head of the EU executive, said Wednesday that 90 billion euros ($105 billion) could be found by EU borrowing or by using Russian central bank assets frozen in the bloc.

But Belgium, home to international deposit organisation Euroclear -- which holds the bulk of the Russian assets -- has so far rejected the plan because of potential legal repercussions.

"We have repeatedly said that we consider the option of the reparations loan the worst of all, as it is risky, it has never been done before," Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Wednesday.

"This explains why we keep on pleading for an alternative, namely the EU borrowing the amounts needed on the markets."

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday said Belgium's concerns "are justified, but the issue is solvable. Solvable if we stand together and are willing to take responsibility."