Belgium – putting money before morals

The Belgian PM has put a spanner in the works of using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine. He says it would violate international law and would destabilise financial markets. Belgium hosts €183bn, about two-thirds of the Russian assets immobilised in the west, at the Brussels-based central securities depository Euroclear. He warned that Euroclear could be sued by Russians with a claim on the assets, landing the Belgian government with a multibillion euro bill. He also said it would prevent the EU from reaching a peace deal, because the Russian assets would not be available for the reconstruction of Ukraine. He clearly reckons Ukraine will lose the war and that Russia would then be asking for its sovereign assets to be returned. As has happened in other cases.

The assets are seen as a key element of upping pressure on Russia, as well as a means of funding Ukraine’s defence at a time when many EU governments are grappling with tight budgets or deficits.

 Bart De Wever, 21 December 1970 11.40pm Mortsel, Belgium is a conservative and Flemish nationalist. He has a 4^th house Sagittarius Sun in a controlling square to Pluto in his 1^st house, both final degree – and both to be undermined over the winter by tr Neptune Saturn in hard aspect. He also has Saturn in Taurus opposition Mars Venus in Scorpio with Jupiter also in Scorpio. Not a man to budge easy.

 His chart relocated to Kyiv puts a focus on financial matters for him. But what intrigues me is his relocated chart to Moscow which puts the abusive, lying Nessus exactly on his Midheaven and intolerable-suffering Chariklo on his Descendant. There will be different ways of reading the meanings of these two positions but there may be more to his trenchant resistance than meets the eye.

The post Belgium – putting money before morals first appeared on Astroinform with Marjorie Orr – Star4cast.