Will Belgian king hold firm against Putin?
What do Belgium's King Philippe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have to do with each other? Almost nothing. But the Belgian monarch may now suddenly be able to make his mark on financial sanctions against Russia.
In fact, the European Union may need King Philippe's help to maintain sanctions against Russia. So writes the British business newspaper The Financial Times.
A little more explanation about this strange possibility
In fact, European officials are currently focusing on an 81-year-old Belgian war law as a stopgap measure to keep blocked Russian assets in Belgium.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Belgium has been blocking some 190 billion euros in Russian central bank assets at the securities house Euroclear. And the European Union has recently been using the proceeds on those assets to lend money to Kiev. But that is only a temporary measure as European sanctions are due to be extended by the end of January. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is already threatening to use his veto. So in that case, there would no longer be a legal basis to keep the assets in Belgium. Enter Filip, King of the Belgians.
The Financial Times writes that one of the fallback solutions is to invoke a 1944 Belgian war decree. The British newspaper relies on four officials involved in the talks. Indeed, the 81-year-old law allows King Philip to block the transfer of financial assets abroad. If so, this would immediately bring a very big responsibility on the shoulders of the 64-year-old Belgian king.
(FVDV for Tagtik/Source: The Financial Times/Illustration picture by Paul Hermans via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC BY 4.0)