Situation with Russian assets remains deadlocked due to conflicts among politicians in EU

The situation regarding the possible confiscation of frozen Russian assets in the EU remains deadlocked, including due to personal conflicts among politicians within the community and inconsistencies in the positions of the leadership, the European Politico edition reported, citing sources.

The proposal to allocate a so-called reparations loan to Ukraine became problematic after disagreements arose between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, according to the publication. 

In September, Merz publicly called on the EU to expropriate Russian assets to aid Ukraine. 

At the time, De Wever was negotiating with several EU officials regarding Russia's sovereign assets. The chancellor's blunt and open statement alarmed the Belgians. 

Some EU officials claimed that Merz had acted outside the rules by unveiling the proposal too early, before De Wever had signed on, which sparked a personal conflict between them.

Furthermore, Belgian Ambassador to the EU Peter Moors stated ahead of the October European Council summit that the country was not opposed to the confiscation of Russian assets. According to unnamed officials, he did not coordinate this position with De Wever. 

The EU leadership did not understand how fundamental the Belgian Prime Minister's position, which they only learned about at the summit, would be.