The European Union has postponed until December a decision on use of 140 billion euros of frozen assets The Central Bank of Russia to help Ukraine.

This is reported by Bloomberg It is noted that this happened after Belgium, where most of the frozen assets of the Russian Federation are stored, demanded guarantees that it would not be responsible for the risks associated with the loans.

Informed sources told the publication that the bloc's leaders have asked the European Commission to prepare options for solutions that they will consider at the next summit.

According to the interlocutors,"the goal is to reach a final agreement by the end of the year."

Frozen assets of the Russian Federation

Since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Russia's assets totaling approximately €210 billion have been frozen in Europe. The majority of this amount – €185 billion – is held at the Belgian depository Euroclear.

The proceeds from these assets have already been used to support Ukraine – as collateral for a loan of about $50 billion. There is concern about using the assets themselves, as it could damage the reputation of the institutions where they are stored, expose Belgium to legal liability and trigger appropriate measures from Moscow.

However, work is currently underway in the EU to allocate the amount specifically from Russian assets, rather than the proceeds from them. As WP explains, the idea is to take the cash reserves that Euroclear transferred to the European Central Bank, and lend money to Ukraine Kyiv will have to return the money only if it achieves military reparations from Moscow.