“We agreed on the what, now we have to work on the how,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.
Faced with the Commission’s reassurances that the financial operation carried little risk, Belgian diplomats replied in internal EU meetings that a plane had little chance of crashing — but if that happens, tens of people still lose their lives, according to two diplomats with knowledge of the talks.
Complexities
During the past weeks, Belgian officials have repeatedly called on the Commission to paper over the most sensitive aspects of the loan together bilaterally — and were left incensed when EU officials refused to do so.
“My feeling is that the friends from the Commission underrated the complexities of this very sophisticated financial construction,” said one of the EU diplomats. “This underrating is the reason why Belgium is worried.”
The EU’s late-night compromise allows everyone to save face ― and leaves De Wever with the power to veto any future actions if they don’t meet his red lines.
If “Russia can actually claim the money for whatever reason … the cash needs to be there immediately,” De Wever said, adding “trust in the entire financial system of Europe” would be at stake.
“Who’s going to give that guarantee. I asked my colleagues, ‘Is it you? Is it the member states?’ … This question was not answered with a tsunami of enthusiasm around the table,” the Belgian leader said.
Gerardo Fortuna contributed reporting.
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