Belgium says Russian assets plan ‘going backward’ ahead of EU summit – POLITICO

Less than 24 hours before EU leaders descend on Brussels for vital talks on financing Ukraine’s war effort, Belgium believes negotiations are going in reverse.

“We are going backward,” Belgium’s EU ambassador, Peter Moors, told his peers on Wednesday during closed-door talks, according to two diplomats present at the meeting.

The European Commission and EU officials are in a race against time to appease Belgian concerns over a €210 billion financing package for Ukraine that leverages frozen Russian state assets across the bloc. Belgium’s support is crucial, as the lion’s share of frozen assets lies in the Brussels-based financial depository Euroclear.