13.09.2024, 18:05
Reuters: The EC has proposed options for extending the freezing of Russian assets
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS The European Commission has presented three new options for extending the asset freeze of the Central Bank of Russia to provide a G7 loan to Ukraine, Reuters reports, citing sources.
"The European Commission has presented to the EU ambassadors three new options for extending the duration of sanctions that apply to the assets of the Central Bank of Russia, which are crucial for obtaining a G7 loan to Ukraine in the amount of $ 50 billion," the message says.
According to the agency, one option includes freezing assets for five years with a review every 12 months. According to agency sources, the second option is to review the asset freeze every 36 months. The third option is to extend the review period for all sanctions related to Russia to 36 months.
In July of this year, European Commissioner for Economics Paolo Gentiloni announced that the European Commission was urgently preparing its proposal for a $50 billion loan to Kiev, repaid at the expense of frozen assets of Russia, but under the guarantee of the reserve budget of the European Union. He stated the EC's desire to prepare such a proposal as soon as possible, since the mechanism proposed by the commission is based on guarantees of the EU budget reserve, which, according to him, can only be used until the end of this year. After the official submission of the EC proposal, it will be discussed in a trilateral format with the participation of the Commission, the EU Council and the European Parliament. Then formal approval procedures will be required at the plenary session of the EP.
After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the EU and the G7 countries froze almost half of the Russian Federation's foreign exchange reserves by about 300 billion euros. More than 200 billion euros are in the EU, mainly in the accounts of the Belgian Euroclear, one of the world's largest settlement and clearing systems.
Earlier, the G7 agreed to allocate a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, which will be reimbursed by interest from Russian assets frozen in the West.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called the freezing of Russian assets in Europe theft, noting that the EU is aimed not just at private individuals' funds, but also at Russian state assets. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would be responsible in case of confiscation of frozen Russian assets in the West. According to him, the Russian Federation also has the opportunity not to return the funds that Western countries held in Russia.
Some time ago, according to media reports, Saudi Arabia warned the G7 countries that it could sell off the debt obligations of some European states it had acquired if the G7 decided to withdraw frozen assets of Russia in the amount of about $ 300 billion. According to reports, the Ministry of Finance of Saudi Arabia has notified some colleagues from the "big seven" of the kingdom's disagreement with the initiative to seize Russian assets. At the same time, it was not specified whether Saudi Arabia acted out of its own interests or out of solidarity with Russia. The media also pointed out that European officials were allegedly concerned that other countries might follow the example of Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, the European Commission said it did not comment on reports of Saudi Arabia's intention to sell debt obligations of EU countries. In turn, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin had heard about Saudi Arabia's intention to sell debt obligations of EU countries in the event of the seizure of Russian assets. He also recalled that Moscow has long pointed out that "illegal attempts to rob the Russian Federation, one way or another," one way or another "will lead to huge damage to the international financial system" and make many countries think about the fate of their own funds.
"The European Commission has presented to the EU ambassadors three new options for extending the duration of sanctions that apply to the assets of the Central Bank of Russia, which are crucial for obtaining a G7 loan to Ukraine in the amount of $ 50 billion," the message says.
According to the agency, one option includes freezing assets for five years with a review every 12 months. According to agency sources, the second option is to review the asset freeze every 36 months. The third option is to extend the review period for all sanctions related to Russia to 36 months.
In July of this year, European Commissioner for Economics Paolo Gentiloni announced that the European Commission was urgently preparing its proposal for a $50 billion loan to Kiev, repaid at the expense of frozen assets of Russia, but under the guarantee of the reserve budget of the European Union. He stated the EC's desire to prepare such a proposal as soon as possible, since the mechanism proposed by the commission is based on guarantees of the EU budget reserve, which, according to him, can only be used until the end of this year. After the official submission of the EC proposal, it will be discussed in a trilateral format with the participation of the Commission, the EU Council and the European Parliament. Then formal approval procedures will be required at the plenary session of the EP.
After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the EU and the G7 countries froze almost half of the Russian Federation's foreign exchange reserves by about 300 billion euros. More than 200 billion euros are in the EU, mainly in the accounts of the Belgian Euroclear, one of the world's largest settlement and clearing systems.
Earlier, the G7 agreed to allocate a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, which will be reimbursed by interest from Russian assets frozen in the West.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called the freezing of Russian assets in Europe theft, noting that the EU is aimed not just at private individuals' funds, but also at Russian state assets. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would be responsible in case of confiscation of frozen Russian assets in the West. According to him, the Russian Federation also has the opportunity not to return the funds that Western countries held in Russia.
Some time ago, according to media reports, Saudi Arabia warned the G7 countries that it could sell off the debt obligations of some European states it had acquired if the G7 decided to withdraw frozen assets of Russia in the amount of about $ 300 billion. According to reports, the Ministry of Finance of Saudi Arabia has notified some colleagues from the "big seven" of the kingdom's disagreement with the initiative to seize Russian assets. At the same time, it was not specified whether Saudi Arabia acted out of its own interests or out of solidarity with Russia. The media also pointed out that European officials were allegedly concerned that other countries might follow the example of Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, the European Commission said it did not comment on reports of Saudi Arabia's intention to sell debt obligations of EU countries. In turn, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin had heard about Saudi Arabia's intention to sell debt obligations of EU countries in the event of the seizure of Russian assets. He also recalled that Moscow has long pointed out that "illegal attempts to rob the Russian Federation, one way or another," one way or another "will lead to huge damage to the international financial system" and make many countries think about the fate of their own funds.
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