(Original title: The European Union will hold a foreign ministers meeting next week to coordinate its position due to the embargo on Russian oil)
Financial Associated Press, May 7 (Editor Zhao Hao)The European Commission announced the sixth round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday (May 4), but the proposal has not been approved by member states because Hungary and other countries opposed sanctions against Russia in the oil sector.
Under the proposed sanctions by European Commission President von der Leyen, most EU countries must stop buying Russian crude six months after taking measures and stop importing refined products from Russia by the end of this year. Once the proposal was introduced, divisions within the EU continued.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote to von der Leyen yesterday saying that “if the European Commission insists on adopting the proposal, it will have to take full responsibility for the historic setback in the European integration process.”
Orban wrote, “So far, the EU’s most important asset in dealing with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is our unity. The current version of the sixth round of sanctions undermines this unity.” According to Russian media reports, Orban said , For Hungary, the EU’s proposal to impose an embargo on Russian energy is “equal to an atomic bomb.”
Some European media reported that in addition to the above two member states, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other countries also have reservations about the new sanctions program. According to EU rules, the European Commission’s proposal must be unanimously approved by the 27 member states to enter into force.
Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said yesterday that if EU member states cannot reach a consensus on the proposal for a new round of sanctions against Russia within this week, he will convene a meeting of the foreign ministers of the member states next week to further coordinate their positions.