© Reuters. The EU’s version of the Russian oil embargo has been updated. Will this proposal pass?
Financial Associated Press, May 29 (Editor Niu Zhanlin) Due to the opposition of some member states, the EU has not implemented the Russian oil embargo for a long time, and can only choose to revise the relevant proposals. It is reported that the European Union proposed to ban the import of Russian oil by sea and relax restrictions on a land oil pipeline to meet the conditions of Hungary, so that the embargo proposal can finally be passed.
The European Commission on Saturday (May 28) sent a revised proposal for a Russian oil cargo embargo to member states, proposing a ban on the import of Russian oil by sea and requesting a delay in critical Druzhba pipeline imposes import restrictions in order to meet Hungarian requirements.
The pipeline is Hungary’s main oil import channel and the main focus of Hungary’s opposition to sanctions against Russian oil.
Under the latest proposal, EU countries will have six months to phase out seaborne shipments of Russian oil and eight months to phase out seaborne shipments of Russian oil products.
At the same time, Hungary will get more buffer time in shipping Russian oil to find technical solutions to meet domestic energy needs; in addition, the concerns of landlocked countries such as Slovenia and the Czech Republic will also be taken care of by the EU.
Under the proposal, Bulgaria would be granted a transition period for a certain period of time and Croatia would be exempted from the vacuum wax oil embargo. The European Commission has also proposed restricting Russian oil exports to other member states or third countries via the Druzhba pipeline.
EU officials are scheduled to meet on Sunday, when they may discuss the revised proposal. Some member states are actively moving forward with the proposal, hoping to pass it next Monday.
Under EU rules, the European Commission proposal requires the unanimous consent of the 27 member states to enter into force. Due to the high dependence of some EU countries on Russia’s energy, there have been serious differences within the EU on the increased sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
Hungary had previously demanded exemptions for pipeline oil from sanctions and given the country more time and infrastructure investment as a condition of backing the plan, but that would weaken the impact of Western sanctions on Russian oil.