Fajarasia.co – The European Union (EU) on Sunday (29/5) failed to agree on an embargo on Russia’s oil, but EU diplomats will still try to make progress ahead of a high-level meeting on Monday to Tuesday (30-31 May).
The meeting will discuss the exclusion of pipeline shipments to mainland Central European countries, EU officials said.
However, a senior EU diplomat said “there are still too many details to work out” to expect a deal to happen before EU leaders gather in Brussels on Monday afternoon.
The proposed sanctions against oil imports are part of the European Union’s sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions package includes cutting Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, from the worldwide interbank financial telecommunications community messaging system commonly known as SWIFT.
In addition, there is a ban from the EU on Russian media and the addition of more people to the list of individuals whose assets are frozen and who cannot enter the EU.
The entire package of sanctions has been withheld by Hungary, which says an embargo on Russia’s oil will deal a severe blow to its economy because it cannot easily get oil from other countries. Slovakia and the Czech Republic have also expressed similar concerns.
EU talks on the oil embargo have gone on for a month with no progress and EU leaders are eager to reach an agreement at their summit so as not to appear divided in their response to Moscow.
To break the deadlock, the European Commission proposed that the ban only apply to Russian oil brought into the EU by tanker.
The proposal would allow Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to continue receiving Russian oil via the Russian Druzhba pipeline for some time until alternative supplies can be arranged.
EU officials said Budapest supported the proposal, but Sunday’s talks were stuck on the issue of EU financing in which Hungary wants to increase pipeline capacity from Croatia and to shift its refinery from using Russia’s Ural crude to Brent crude. .
The issue will be discussed by EU envoys on Monday morning together with a focus on the issue of how to ensure fair competition given the higher oil prices that EU member states that depend on for delivery of Brent crude will face as a result of sanctions.***
