Belgium is preparing a new military aid package for Ukraine, according to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
Prime Minister De Croo made the announcement on Thursday after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was received in The Hague by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
“Belgium is in the process of preparing a new military aid package,” De Croo said at a press conference with Zelensky and Rutte at the Casthuis, the residence of the Dutch prime minister in The Hague.
“For such processes, practical obstacles often arise, but I can assure that there is no doubt in Belgian minds and hearts about the need to continue to support Ukraine,” he added.
The Belgian Prime Minister did not go into the details of the aid, but it is certain to be military equipment to replenish Ukrainian reserves. A decision is expected by the end of this month or early next month.
Belgium is also working on the billions of euros of Russian assets frozen on its territory (the figure of €180 billion has been cited).
In the March budget adjustment, it had already been decided to allocate part of the taxation on interest earned on the frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. However, the Belgian prime minister says he wants to use all the interest for this purpose.
Belgium is seeking to work out a legal framework with the European Commission.
“We want to play a leading role in this. Using this money for Ukraine’s war effort and reconstruction makes perfect sense, both from an economic and moral point of view,” De Croo said.
