BRUSSELS. July 20 (Interfax) - The European Commission may come forward with a legal proposal on how to use frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine this fall, European Commission spokesman Christian Wiegand said.
"We proposed options for member states back last November. Discussions with member states on the way forward are progressing well," Wiegand told a press briefing in Brussels on Thursday, adding that the EU Council's working group on these assets last met on July 12 and is due to hold its next meeting in September.
"Legal proposal we aim to have after the summer break," he said.
Wigand reminded reporters about the context, saying that the European Commission was looking for ways to make use of Russia's frozen assets to help Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke about this during the most recent European Council meeting, he said. The issue was discussed by EU heads of state and government and at the level of the G7, Wiegand said.
Von der Leyen said at a press conference following the EU summit, which was held in Brussels on June 29-30, that the EU will continue to look "prudently" at the possible options, in terms of using profits from immobilized Russian assets.
At the same time, she said that "it is important not to undermine confidence in EU institutions," and promised to thoroughly study the concerns of the European Central Bank about the plans.
Ulf Kristersson, prime minister of Sweden, which is currently holding the EU presidency, highlighted the importance of work being done by a high-level group to examine the legal aspects of plans to use profits from frozen Russian assets.
The summit's communique adopted by the EU heads of state and government says that the European leaders, along with the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, will coordinate their position with partners on how frozen Russian assets could be used to aid Ukraine.
"The European Council took stock of the work done regarding Russia's immobilized assets, and invites the Council, the High Representative and the Commission to take work forward, in accordance with EU and international law, and in coordination with partners," the document says.