Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever at Downing Street on 12 December 2025. The official readout highlighted cooperation on migration, security and economic ties, and recorded a constructive tone between the two governments. The summary was published by the Prime Minister’s Office on the same day.
On Ukraine, both leaders reviewed the state of discussions aimed at ending the conflict and described the period as pivotal for Kyiv’s future. They agreed that maintaining economic pressure on Russia while strengthening Ukraine’s position remains essential to securing a just and durable settlement.
The meeting covered Ukraine’s financing needs, including options linked to the value generated by immobilised Russian sovereign assets. Since May 2024, EU legislation has required central securities depositories to set aside net windfall profits arising from these immobilised holdings for Ukraine’s self‑defence, defence‑industrial capacity and reconstruction, with payments transferred on a scheduled basis.
That framework moved further on 12 December 2025, when the EU decided to freeze about €210 billion in Russian state assets indefinitely. This step removes the need for six‑monthly rollovers and opens the way for leaders to consider using the proceeds to back a substantial loan at the 18 December summit, subject to legal and risk‑sharing safeguards.
Belgium’s position is central because Brussels‑based Euroclear holds the largest share of the immobilised assets and has accrued significant interest income on those balances. Belgian authorities collected €1.7 billion in 2024 corporate tax on Euroclear’s profits from the Russian holdings and have previously indicated that revenue would support assistance to Ukraine.
At G7 level, leaders meeting in Apulia in June 2024 agreed to make available around $50 billion via loans serviced by extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilised assets, creating a complementary channel to EU measures for medium‑term Ukrainian support.
The bilateral agenda also addressed irregular migration. According to No. 10, the UK and Belgium will intensify cooperation on returns and readmissions and deepen operational law‑enforcement collaboration. Further detail was not published, with work now expected to continue between the Home Office, policing bodies and Belgian counterparts.
Legal and financial risk management remains an active thread in European discussions. Russia’s central bank has condemned EU asset‑related measures and filed proceedings in Moscow against Euroclear, while EU institutions maintain that the current approach focuses on profits rather than confiscating principal. These disputes will shape how quickly asset‑linked financing can be mobilised in 2026–27.
For UK policy teams, the Downing Street meeting signals tighter alignment with EU and G7 financing tracks for Ukraine alongside stronger bilateral policing with Belgium. The readout contains no new legislative commitments, but it establishes clear intent to advance technical work on sanctions implementation, asset‑revenue mechanisms and migration enforcement.