Lisbon, Dec. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal is "totally in favour" of the proposal to use frozen Russian assets to finance Kyiv, which is to be decided by the European Council this week, but stresses the need to listen to "relevant objections" from Belgium, Portuguese diplomats said on Tuesday.
"Portugal is not opposed to this form of financing, provided that it takes into account some of Belgium's truly pertinent objections. We are in the middle of negotiations and, if all aspects are taken into account, the Portuguese state will vote in favour of using the frozen assets," said Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel during a hearing at the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities.
The summit of the 27 heads of state and government of the European Union in Brussels on Thursday and Friday is expected to decide on the use of Russian assets frozen under European sanctions against Russia, amounting to €210 billion, to support Ukraine financially over the next two years.
The decision is opposed by Belgium, the country that holds most of the frozen Russian assets (through Euroclear) and is demanding clear commitments from other Member States to protect itself legally, as it does not want to risk being left without the funds if Russia does not pay reparations.
The Portuguese minister said today that he was hopeful of a "very constructive solution at the end of this week", but acknowledged that "some colleagues are less optimistic".
The difficulties, he explained, lie in "building guarantees to give to Belgium or others", indicating that some states "want greater precision in defining the financial framework".
Rangel also recalled that "all proceeds from fixed assets are already being used for Ukraine and this has not provoked a negative reaction from the market".
On behalf of Chega, Diogo Pacheco Amorim anticipated that this solution "has everything to go wrong and the bill will be heavy for all EU Member States" and argued that it would be "more appropriate" to support Ukraine through "series of loans from the European Union (EU)".
In response, Paulo Rangel commented that he was "completely surprised" that Chega was "joining the ranks of Euroscepticism".
"It shows a sympathy with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that would be unexpected from Chega. (...) I had not yet seen Chega join the chorus of Eurosceptics and even show a certain tolerance and condescension towards Putin and Russian aggression," criticised the minister.
MP Rui Tavares, from Livre, questioned whether, if approved, the decision "has a solid legal basis that will not be challenged in the Court of Justice of the European Union and that will require a new solution to be drawn up".
Paulo Rangel argued that the decision has a "broadly comfortable" legal basis.
JH/ADB // ADB.
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