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Belgium to withdraw 1.2 billion euros from aid to Kiev for its military needs

These funds are generated from emergency taxes on income derived from the reinvestment of frozen Russian assets

BRUSSELS, April 24. /TASS/. The Belgian government plans to withdraw 1.2 billion euros in 2025 from the European Commission’s designated funds for arms supplies to Ukraine. This move aims to bolster Belgium’s own defense budget, increasing spending from 1.3% to 2% of GDP, according to the Soir newspaper.

However, Soir notes that Belgium faces a shortfall of approximately 3.8 billion euros to meet this target in 2025. Prime Minister Bart De Wever has reportedly submitted parliamentary proposals for funding less than half of this amount - specifically, 1.8 billion euros.

A central element of De Wever’s plan involves redirecting 1.2 billion euros generated from emergency taxes on income derived from the reinvestment of frozen Russian assets. Notably, about 90% (183 billion euros) of these assets are blocked within Europe, primarily held in the Belgian-based Euroclear platform, which operates within Belgium’s jurisdiction.

The European Commission estimates that the total illegally seized revenues from reinvested Russian assets amount to approximately 3-3.5 billion euros annually. Under EU plans, these funds are intended to service military loans to Kiev -amounting to as much as 50 billion euros - provided by the G7 countries, as well as to finance Ukraine’s weapons procurement and bolster its military-industrial sector.

Neither the European Commission nor the Belgian government has clarified how the emergency Belgian taxes -imposing over 30% on these revenues - correspond to the amount the EC intends to allocate for Ukraine’s needs. Furthermore, in 2023-2024, the previous Belgian government under Alexander De Croo assured Kiev that revenues from Belgian taxes on Russian assets would be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine.

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