EU legal experts are studying a way to bypass the need for unanimity to send 140 billion euros to Kiev from seized Russian assets. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban opposes the EU plan but the European Commission believes it has found a legal solution to exclude Hungary from the decision-making process, according to Politico. Normally, such a dramatic measure as the Brussels plan to seize Moscow's reserves would require the unanimity of all 27 member countries, effectively giving Orban a veto. Given Orban's long history of obstructing sanctions against the Kremlin, EU legal experts are working on a plan that would allow the decision on the proposed "reparations loan" to Ukraine to be taken by qualified majority. According to Politico sources, the Commission hopes to base its action on a series of conclusions of the European Council, agreed by all EU leaders, including Orban, on December 19 last year. In that statement, the leaders said: "Russia's assets should remain frozen until Russia stops its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates for the damage caused by this war." At that time, the statement was largely perceived as meaning that the assets themselves should remain frozen, mainly at the Euroclear bank in Belgium, and not be accessed by Russia, while the interest could be used for the war effort. The Commission's new argument is that this statement provides sufficient cover to change the sanctions rules from unanimity to qualified majority. For this to work, all or most of the other countries would have to agree. "This would require a high-level political agreement from all or most heads of state or government," the Commission said in a note to EU ambassadors meeting on Friday. Obtaining a broader agreement will not be easy. There are other potentially Russia-friendly countries in the mix, such as Slovakia. Then there is also the problem of Belgium. The Belgian government has already rejected the proposal, due to concerns that seizing EU funds could expose Belgium and Euroclear, a financial institution that holds Russia's frozen assets, to legal retaliation from Moscow. "Let's take Putin's money and leave the risks to us. That's not going to happen, I want to be very clear about that," Prime Minister Bart De Wever said in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. "If countries see that central bank money can disappear if European politicians consider it necessary, they could decide to withdraw their reserves from the eurozone." However, De Wever acknowledged that he is willing to discuss the issue, and Belgium generally supports measures against Putin, unlike Hungary and Slovakia. The key insurance offer for Belgians will likely come in the form of intervention by other EU countries to replace Euroclear assets sent to Kiev with jointly subscribed bills of exchange. EU leaders will meet next week in Copenhagen, where discussions on the loan are planned. No official decisions will be taken - these are scheduled for the end-of-October summit, after finance ministers have had a chance to analyze the proposal in Luxembourg on October 10. Most of Russia's state assets have been frozen at Euroclear since Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A large part of these have been invested in Western government bonds that have matured and been converted into cash. This liquidity is currently in a deposit account at the European Central Bank. **Sursa articolului:** Acest material a fost adaptat din articolul original publicat pe [timpul.md](https://timpul.md/articol/viktor-orban-se-opune-planului-ue-de-a-confisca-active-rusesti-in-valoare-de-140-de-miliarde-de-euro-si-de-a-le-imprumuta-ucrainei.html). Vă încurajăm să consultați sursa completă pentru mai multe detalii și context suplimentar.