EU moves to long-term freeze of Russian central bank's assets

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

EU moves to long-term freeze of Russian central bank's assets

China's commodity price index stood at 129.9 points in March, up 4 percent month on month and 14.5 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Sunday.

Among the 50 major commodities under key monitoring by the CFLP, 38 recorded a month-on-month price increase in March.

Specifically, diesel, methanol and ethylene glycol led the gains, rising 30.5 percent, 30.4 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively, from the previous month.

Affected by imported factors such as tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, China's energy and chemical price indices rose significantly, up 16.5 percent and 21.8 percent month on month, respectively.

Driven by rising international fertilizer prices and growing demand for biofuels, China's agricultural product price index increased by 2.8 percent month on month.

Analysts noted that the sharp rise in the commodity price index in March comes from factors such as the recovery of the domestic commodity market, the good outcomes of policies, and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Given the increasingly volatile international commodity prices and the rising uncertainties in importing energy, chemicals and other commodities, it is necessary to diversify the sources of raw materials, expand the use of alternative resources, and enhance the ability to resist and respond to risky factors that may cause fluctuation in markets, said the analysts.

China's commodity price index up 4 pct in March