Merz dashes to Brussels for talks with De Wever and VDL on Russian assets

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will arrive Friday in Brussels in a bid to convince Belgium’s leadership to back a €165 billion reparations loan to Ukraine using the cash value of frozen Russian state assets held on Belgian soil.

“Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Belgium tomorrow evening for a dinner meeting to speak privately with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,” a German government spokesperson told POLITICO.

Merz scrapped his travel plans to Oslo to make the trip to the EU capital after the Commission proposed a financial package to fund Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces. Time is of the essence, as Kyiv’s war chest is expected to run bare in April.

De Wever continues to oppose the initiative, as the lion’s share of the assets is under the stewardship of Brussels-based financial depository, Euroclear. He fears that Russia will retaliate against Belgium at home and abroad, and is demanding ironclad financial guarantees from EU capitals before he even considers backing the Commission’s proposal.

EU leaders are scheduled to discuss the initiative in Brussels on Dec. 18. Failure to reach a deal could force EU governments to use taxpayers’ money to ensure Ukraine’s survival.