A single EU member state is now blocking a multi-billion dollar loan package to Ukraine — one that's supposed to be backed by frozen Russian central bank reserves.

The holdup? Belgium. Most of those frozen assets sit with Euroclear, a clearinghouse based in Brussels. Without Belgium's sign-off, the entire EU plan stalls. The loan structure relies on using proceeds from immobilized Russian funds as collateral, but internal disagreements over legal risk and future liability have left the proposal in limbo.

This isn't just about one country dragging its feet. It highlights how fragmented decision-making can paralyze large-scale financial operations — even when the assets are already locked down. For now, the fate of this reparation-style financing mechanism remains uncertain.