EC says deadline for proposal for Russian assets’ profit unclear

BRUSSELS, Oct 30 (PRIME) -- The European Commission (EC) is not yet ready to say when it will draft a proposal for the use of the frozen Russian assets, EC spokesperson Tim McPhie said in a briefing on Monday.

On Friday, European Council President Charles Michel said that the E.U. leaders had ordered the European Commission and E.U. chief diplomat Josep Borrell to finish preparation of proposals to use the profits from the frozen Russian assets.

McPhie said that the commission welcomed the E.U.’s decision and has already taken action, but he was unable to define any date.

He also said that it was too early to evaluate the possible consequences from Ukraine’s decision to stop transit of Russian natural gas after 2024.

Ukrainian energy holding company Naftogaz CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said earlier that Kiev was not going to prolong the gas transit contract that expires on December 31, 2024.

McPhie said that there was still time until the contract’s deadline comes, and it would be wrong to predict the future situation. At the same time, the E.U.’s position on diversification of its energy sources and rejection of Russian energy sources is still in place, he added.

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