Placeholder while loading article actions
BRUSSELS – The European Union has not finished talking about Russian oil. He’s not finished buying it either.
In Monday morning’s talks, EU ambassadors failed to reach an agreement to phase out Russia’s oil imports due to continued opposition from Hungary, keeping the issue on the agenda. EU and Russian oil flowing to Europe for at least another day. .
The issue now threatens to overshadow a two-day European Council summit on the war in Ukraine that begins on Monday afternoon in Brussels, where EU leaders will discuss a diluted plan that would ban deliveries by sea but exempt oil of the pipelines.
A senior EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to report to the press, said the European Council hopes to reach a political agreement on the revised proposal on Monday. It is unclear whether the 27 leaders will sign.
Arriving at the summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban said he had seen the revised proposal and no agreement had yet been reached. He praised the decision to exempt oil from the pipeline – a Hungarian request to start – but said he also needed assurances that his country’s Russian oil supply would be protected if something happened to the pipeline from Ukraine to Hungary. .
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that there would be an agreement, finally. “My expectations are low that it will be resolved in the next 48 hours,” he told reporters as he arrived at the summit in Brussels.
Ukraine suffers on the battlefield while demanding US weapons
On May 30, the European Union again failed to reach an agreement to phase out oil imports from Russia due to continued opposition from Hungary. (Video: Reuters)
As the summit began, EU leaders heard a virtual address behind closed doors by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. European Council President Charles Michel thanked Zelensky for his “sincere” statements. “We will increase your liquidity and help you rebuild Ukraine,” he tweeted. “We will continue to strengthen your capacity to defend your people and your country.”
While EU officials and leaders would like to keep the focus on EU support for Ukraine, they will not be able to escape the fact that Europe continues to buy large quantities of Russian oil, causing money to flow into the Kremlin.
Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, member states have been trying to find ways to eliminate Russian fossil fuels while ensuring enough energy to keep the lights on throughout Europe. They agreed to phase out coal, but talks on oil have been tougher and have now been stalled for weeks by Orban.
Orban compared an EU oil ban to dropping a “nuclear bomb” on his country’s economy and has insisted on more time and money to improve his country’s offshore oil infrastructure. Although there has been a desire to grant concessions to Hungary and other countries heavily dependent on Russian gas pipeline, the Hungarian leader has been granted extensions, but continues to push for more, according to EU officials and diplomats. .
Some are concerned that Orban, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies in Europe, appears to be using the situation to counter EU officials to withhold money from Hungary’s economic recovery and to threaten to curb thousands of million in grants for a democratic setback.
The EU proposes to cut funding in Hungary for violations of the rule of law
The latest proposal on the table calls for a ban on deliveries by sea, but for now exempts pipeline deliveries, keeping oil flowing from Russia to several EU countries, including Hungary, according to a draft proposal obtained by The Washington Post. The draft does not set a deadline for the exemption.
Exempting oil from pipelines would soften the impact of oil measures. An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to report to the press, said the phasing out of all deliveries by sea would affect about two-thirds of imports.
The oil pipeline exemption allows for continued supply through the Druzhba network, which runs through Belarus to Poland and Germany, and through Ukraine to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. With Poland and Germany already committed to eliminating Russian oil this year, the bloc could theoretically shrink further.
However, there is no doubt that the commitment – and the message it sends – are a welcome for Russia, which makes many in Brussels question what has gone wrong.
Many EU officials and diplomats have tried to downplay Hungary’s role by posing challenges as technicians, not politicians.
A senior EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said that in an effort to move forward quickly, EU officials and diplomats had not looked closely enough at what oil would mean for states. members who get most or all of their oil. Russia.
“Under the pressure of this war, we have taken some steps too soon and now we are facing the consequences,” the great diplomat said.
Others see the problem as inherently political, and all about Orban. “Whenever something is granted in Hungary, they ask for something more,” said another EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations.
“Let’s see what happens to Orban tonight,” the diplomat continued. “He is in charge.”