The European Union said on Thursday that its member countries have agreed to initiate written procedures to reach an agreement on long-term freeze of Russia central bank's assets.
According to an EU diplomat, the EU governments are expecting to agree by Friday to freeze the Russian assets immobilized in Europe until the specified freeze period is reached, replacing the requirement to vote every six months on whether to renew the freeze, which needs the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states.
The move establishes the groundwork for an EU initiative to leverage the frozen Russian sovereign assets in extending loans to Ukraine, which would fund the country from 2026 to 2027, provided the assets remain frozen indefinitely.
The European Commission has proposed invoking Article 22 of the EU treaty to ensure the assets' indefinite freeze.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the scheme promoted by the European Commission to expropriate Russian assets is definitely illegal, according to Russian media outlet TASS.
The anticipated plan will inevitably entail harsh countermeasures, and those initiating this fraudulent scheme would bear full responsibility for all adverse consequences inflicted on the global economy, she said.
Following the full escalation of the Ukraine Crisis in February 2022, the West has frozen about 300 billion U.S.-dollar Russian overseas assets, with the value of the frozen assets of the Russian central bank reaching about 200 billion U.S. dollars.
Around 90 percent of the frozen Russian assets in the EU are held by the Brussels-based securities depository, Euroclear.
EU moves to long-term freeze of Russian central bank's assets
China's annual Central Economic Work Conference has outlined a policy agenda for the coming year that combines short-term stabilization measures with long-term structural reforms, signaling a continued focus on "seeking progress while maintaining stability" and improving growth quality and efficiency.
According to the conference, next year's macroeconomic policy will emphasize strengthening both counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments to support steady, high-quality development.
"The policy's orientation aims to maintain stability while pursuing progress and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in economic development. This means improving the efficiency and benefits of economic growth. In terms of overall policy design, there is a particular emphasis on increasing the strength of counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments. Counter-cyclical measures address short-term economic fluctuations, while cross-cyclical adjustments focus more on medium- and long-term issues. Through a series of policies, important reforms across many areas can be advanced, enabling the economy to achieve long-term and stable development," said Zou Yunhan, deputy director of the Macroeconomic Research Office of the State Information Center under the National Development and Reform Commission.
The conference listed eight priorities for the economic work in 2026.
"These eight priorities are important measures to implement the new development philosophy. On the demand side, we must adhere to domestic demand as the main driver, and on the supply side, we must adhere to innovation-driven development. At the same time, advancing reform is essential to unlocking institutional vitality. Most importantly, we must ensure that our efforts focus on the wellbeing of the people. I believe this is crucial for achieving common prosperity," said Lin Chen, a professor of the School of Applied Economics in Renmin University of China.
China outlines policy direction to boost growth quality, efficiency in 2026: experts
