Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever at No 10 on 12 December. According to the Downing Street readout, the discussion focused on migration, security and growth, with both sides stressing a closer working relationship.
On Ukraine, the leaders reviewed the state of peace talks and described the period as pivotal. They agreed that sustained economic pressure on Russia and strengthening Ukraine’s position remain essential to secure a just and durable peace.
They also discussed Ukraine’s financing needs with European partners, including options linked to the “value” of immobilised Russian sovereign assets. Under EU law adopted in May 2024, central securities depositories must transfer the net windfall profits generated by immobilised Russian central bank assets to support Ukraine’s defence, industry and reconstruction, with payments made twice yearly.
Belgium’s role is material because Euroclear, headquartered in Brussels, holds a substantial share of the immobilised assets and has already transferred proceeds under that framework. Euroclear reports an initial payment of about €1.55 billion in July 2024 and indicated a further c. €2 billion for H2 2024, with interest earnings from these assets generating €1.7 billion in Belgian corporate tax in 2024.
The timing of the meeting coincides with EU steps to place the immobilisation on a long‑term legal footing. EU ambassadors agreed this week to proceed under Article 122 to keep around €210 billion in Russian central bank assets immobilised indefinitely, with leaders due to address the related Ukraine financing package at the European Council on 18 December.
On migration, the Prime Minister welcomed Belgium’s agreement to intensify joint work against illegal migration, including collaboration on returns and readmissions and stronger law‑enforcement cooperation. No operational detail or implementation timetable was set out in the No 10 readout.
Recent joint cases illustrate the operational channel. Eurojust records a UK–Belgium joint investigation team that enabled the November 2024 arrest of a suspected supplier of small boats and engines to Channel smuggling networks; in related work, the UK National Crime Agency has executed arrests in the UK at Belgium’s request.
For practitioners, the message is more structured case‑handling and evidence‑sharing with Belgian counterparts, alongside potential development of returns and readmissions processes. Any change to removal pathways will depend on concrete legal instruments; the No 10 readout did not publish a specific returns mechanism with Belgium.
Next steps to watch are any follow‑up UK–Belgium statements on migration operations and the outcome of the 18 December European Council on the legal and financial architecture for using proceeds from immobilised Russian assets to support Ukraine.