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Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP  

 

Economy 

EU chief: ECB doesn't need to worry about Russian seizures  

 

The ECB does not have to worry about financial markets and the euro being hurt by the EU's plans to use frozen Russian assets. This was said by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference when the EU summit ended on Friday, according to several media outlets. 

 

She maintained that the EU should continue to work for a tax on profits on the returns from the state Russian assets of more than 200 billion euros that have been frozen, writes the Financial Times. 

 

von den Leyen pointed out that it has been a year since the EU and G7 froze the assets of the Russian central bank and that the markets are still taking it easy. 

 

- It indicates a great understanding of the cautious stance that we have chosen, said the EU chief.  

 

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Russian invasionGlobal food crisis  

Russia is strengthening its grip on the world's wheat supply  

 

Russia has strengthened its position in the world wheat market after the invasion of Ukraine, increasing the Kremlin's influence over the global food supply. It also gives the country greater political influence and more hard currency, reports Bloomberg. 

 

In the coming season, Russian wheat will account for about one-fifth of all wheat exported by sea, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. 

 

Meanwhile, Ukraine, often described as the breadbasket of Europe, is expected to have halved its market share to just 5 percent as a result of the war.  

 

Russia exported about 100 billion kroner worth of grain annually before the war, according to UN data. Key buyers are countries in the Middle East and North Africa, which have not imposed sanctions against Russia.