Politico reported the information.Frustrated European Union countries are escalating their criticism of Belgium, accusing the government of failing to fully disclose how it uses tax revenue from immobilized Russian assets held in Brussels. The controversy comes as the European Commission pushes for all 27 EU member states to approve converting the frozen reserves into a reparations loan for Ukraine at a critical European Council meeting scheduled for December 18.Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has emerged as a key opponent of the plan, intensifying his resistance on Thursday evening by arguing that Belgium would bear financial responsibility if Moscow successfully reclaims the billions. However, five diplomats from various European nations have raised concerns that Belgium may have ulterior motives for retaining control of Russia's money, pointing to the substantial tax revenue it generates.The diplomats noted that Belgium appears to be violating an international commitment made last year to provide transparency about its use of tax proceeds from the frozen reserves, which are intended to support Ukraine. According to these officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the money continues to be incorporated into Belgium's national budget, making it impossible to verify whether the country is fully honoring its obligations to Kyiv. Belgium has strongly denied any wrongdoing."In light of this ongoing foot-dragging behavior, one wonders whether it has actually been understood that it's Europe's security which is at stake here," a senior EU diplomat told. "And in view of the data, there are doubts as to whether Belgium is delivering on its promise to sent its windfall tax gains to Ukraine."If Belgium maintains its opposition to transferring the frozen funds to Ukraine, diplomats warned that EU member countries will increasingly use pre-summit meetings to question whether Belgium is profiting from the tax income or delaying payments to Ukraine. They also raised questions about whether Belgium is using regular tax revenue to support Ukraine—as other European countries do—or simply relying on taxes from the Russian reserves.The financial trail is difficult to follow, but diplomats cite data from sources like the Kiel Institute, which estimates Belgium's total commitment to Ukraine at €3.44 billion between the war's start and August 31, 2025. By comparison, tax revenue from the Russian assets reached €1.7 billion in 2024 alone.The Belgian government rejected the diplomatic criticism, stating that all tax earned from Russian reserves held at the Euroclear bank in Brussels was "earmarked" for Kyiv, though it did not directly confirm whether all funds had been paid."The Belgian government has committed to allocating all corporate tax revenue from the interest income on Russia's immobilized assets at Euroclear to support Ukraine," a Belgian official said. "For 2025, this revenue is currently estimated at around €1 billion."Belgian authorities also emphasized that Ukraine receives funding from federal government sources beyond the asset tax. "In addition to the full use of the corporate tax on the windfall profits, which is fully used for military support to Ukraine, the Belgian federal government has provided since 2022 roughly just under 1 billion euros in military and other support to Ukraine," the official stated.Because the Russian assets are held by Brussels-based depository Euroclear, the Belgian government collects a 25 percent corporate tax on profits from interest on the holdings. According to Belgian officials, this funding is "entirely earmarked for Ukraine and goes toward the provision of military-related support (military hardware, training, etc.) as well as limited civilian items such as ambulances."The transparency issue was supposed to have been resolved last year. In 2024, several Western countries accused Belgium of using part of the tax revenues to cover ordinary budget expenses. The previous Belgian government responded by pledging to transfer the tax revenues to an EU and G7 financial instrument for Ukraine—a promise that was never fulfilled. When asked why it has not used the special instrument to provide transparency about the funds, the Belgian government did not respond.A second senior EU diplomat critical of Belgium offered an explanation: "The tax revenue was already part of their domestic budget, and they didn't want to give it up."