EU considers new options to secure sanctions on frozen Russian assets
New options would extend renewal to up to 5 years
Frozen assets underpin planned G7 Ukraine loan
New sanctions renewal arrangements needed to secure loan
Adds quotes, U.S. greenlight to the options, paragraphs 4-7, 11-13
By Julia Payne and Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS, Sept 13 (Reuters) -The European Commission has presented EU ambassadors with three new possible ways to renew sanctions on Russia's central bank assets for longer periods, a change that is crucial to securing a $50 billion G7 loan for Ukraine, EU diplomats said on Friday.
Leaders of the Group of Seven major democracies and the EU agreed in June to use the interest on frozen Russian assets to underpin the G7 loan for Ukraine to help it defend itself against Moscow's full-scale invasion.
The assets held by G7 members amount to some $300 billion, with most of that held in Europe by Belgium's securities depository Euroclear.
In order to secure the loan, the G7 wants to be sure the EU sanctions regime on the assets is not lifted. The diplomats said the Commission had discussed the three options with the United States ahead of time.
"Possible options were presented this morning...already discussed with the U.S.," one of the diplomats said.
The U.S. representation to the EU in Brussels did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Commission spokesperson declined to go into details.
A unanimous vote from the EU's 27 member states is required to renew sanctions on Russia every 6 months. Renewals have sometimes been used as a bargaining opportunity; Hungary's leader Viktor Orban has held up funding and legislation designed to help Ukraine in the past.
The renewal options were presented to ambassadors on Friday. The first option is a five-year freeze on the assets with a review every 12 months and a qualified majority of EU countries needed to unfreeze the assets, three EU diplomats said.
The second option is a renewal of the asset freeze every 36 months with a unanimous vote, they said. The third option would be to extend the renewal period for all sanctions related to Russia to 36 months from the current six months.
EU countries and the Commission have been discussing sanctions renewal options since July after the Commission first circulated an informal proposal.
"Overall a very constructive and positive meeting this morning. There was an overall feeling in the room that MS (member states) want to find ways forward now," another of the diplomats said.
Reporting by Julia Payne and Jan Strupczewski
Editing by Gareth Jones and Philippa Fletcher
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
