Russia has subjected Belgian politicians and senior finance executives to “tactics of intimidation” in an effort to block a proposed plan to use €185bn ($217bn) of frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, according to reports.
Russian intelligence agents have targeted key figures at Euroclear, the Belgium-based securities depository where most of the frozen assets are held, according to The Guardian citing European intelligence agencies.
A European official told the paper that the campaign was likely attributable to Russia’s GRU military intelligence, though the extent and immediacy of the threat is not clear.
“They have been engaged in tactics of intimidation for sure,” the official said.
The alleged threats have been directed at Euroclear chief executive Valérie Urbain and other senior executives at the financial services group.
Euroclear declined to comment when contacted by The Guardian, saying: “Any potential threats are treated with the utmost priority and investigated deeply, often with the support of authorities as appropriate.”
A spokesperson for Belgium’s prime minister Bart De Wever also declined to comment on the reported threats linked to Russia while a spokesperson for Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot, said they had “no information” about such an issue.
Crunch talks in Brussels
The report came as EU leaders convened in Brussels on Thursday for crunch talks over using the frozen assets to strengthen Kyiv’s hand.
The EU has estimated that Ukraine needs an additional €135 billion ($159 billion) to stay afloat over the next two years, with the European Commission hoping to plug the gap by tapping the assets.
However, Belgium has firmly opposed the plan so far over fears that it could be forced to contend with financial and legal reprisals from Moscow, which has already announced plans to sue Euroclear for $230bn, according to local media reports.
On Thursday morning, De Wever reiterated in an address to Belgian MPs that the proposal was “questionable” under international law but cast a failure to come to an agreement as the “ultimate geopolitical embarrassment” for Europe.
If EU countries agree to equally shoulder the risks in order to protect Belgium, he said, “then we’ll all jump off that cliff together… and hope that the parachute will hold us.”
De Wever has been under pressure to put aside his strident opposition to the proposal, which has so far stalled the process.
An article from Politico on Dec. 10, citing an EU diplomat, said that the Belgian premier could find himself “frozen out and ignored, just like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán” if he refused to play ball.
“The message to Belgium is that if it does not come on board, its diplomats, ministers and leaders will lose their voice around the EU table,” Politico wrote.
“Officials would put to the bottom of the pile Belgium’s wishlist and concerns related to the EU’s long-term budget for 2028-34… its views on EU proposals will not be sought. Its phone calls will go unanswered,” the paper continued.
Belgium will feel the effects “for eternity”
The Kremlin has levelled its own public threats against Belgium and Euroclear. It has threatened “decades” of lawsuits and depicted the plan as a “hostile act” against Russia.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, wrote on social media that Belgium would “disappear” if Russia tested the underwater Poseidon nuclear super-weapon off its coast.
Belgium has also been one of the main targets of a cluster of drone incursions at airports, military bases and a nuclear power plant.
In early December, de Wever said in an interview with La Libre newspaper: “And who believes that Putin will calmly accept the confiscation of Russian assets? Moscow has let us know that in the event of a seizure, Belgium and I personally will feel the effects for eternity.”
Speaking from Brussels on Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned leaders that “we have a simple choice: either money today, or blood tomorrow. All European leaders have to finally rise to this occasion.”
“I’m not talking about Ukraine only, I’m talking about Europe,” he added.
“We just can’t afford to fail. We have to show that we are strong,” EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the assets plan would send “a clear signal to Russia.”