The European Commission welcomes a proposal agreed by European Union countries to use the proceeds from frozen Russian assets, and a mechanism to enable this will be created, European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand said.

"We welcome [the fact] that members have agreed in principle to this proposal. It is important. And the next step is its official approval [by the Council of the EU]," Wigand told a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday.

The matter is now up to the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU, and a decision will be made according to the written procedure, he said.

The proposal's immediate aim is to preserve the windfall profits from the Russian Central Bank's frozen assets, and its "ultimate goal is to use those profits for Ukraine," Wigand said.

"The Commission and the high representative [EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell] will prepare the next stage as soon as possible," he said.

"There is currently no specific schedule [for the proposal on such a mechanism], but we want to do it as soon as possible," the European Commission's chief spokesperson Eric Mamer said.

The proposal was approved by the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the EU's member states a day earlier.