Russian oil: EU agrees compromise deal on banning imports

EU members spent hours struggling to resolve their differences over the ban on Russian oil imports. Hungary, which imports 65% of its oil from Russia through pipelines, was its main opponent. Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The compromise followed weeks of wrangling until it was agreed there would be “a temporary exemption for oil that comes through pipelines to the EU”, Mr Michel told reporters.

Because of this, the immediate sanctions will affect only Russian oil being transported into the EU over sea – two-thirds of the total imported from Russia.

But in practice, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the scope of the ban would be wider, because Germany and Poland have volunteered to wind down their own pipeline imports by the end of this year.

“Left over is around 10-11% that is covered by the southern Druzhba,” Ms Von der Leyen said, referring to the Russian pipeline supplying oil to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The European Council would revisit this exemption “as soon as possible”, she added.

A senior EU official confirmed that the three landlocked countries were given an additional guarantee that they could obtain supplies of seaborne Russian oil in the event of an interruption to pipeline supply.

The Russian ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said Brussels had “already approached the limits of what is possible in terms of sanctions”.

Speaking to Russian state TV, he predicted “serious problems” if the EU were to try to agree on a gas embargo.

The ban on Russian oil imports was initially proposed by the European Commission – which develops laws for member states – a month ago.

But resistance, notably from Hungary, held up the EU’s troubled latest round of sanctions.

Mr Orban declared the agreement a victory for his country, telling Hungarians they could sleep soundly – protected from expensive fuel costs that the embargo would bring to the rest of Europe.

“We succeeded in defeating the proposal of the European Council which would have forbidden Hungary from using Russian oil,” he said in a Facebook video.

Other landlocked countries, such as Slovakia and the Czech Republic, also asked for more time due to their dependence on Russian oil. Bulgaria, already cut off from Russian gas by Gazprom, had likewise sought opt-outs.

The cost of living crisis being felt across Europe has not helped either. Sky-rocketing energy prices – among other things – have curtailed some EU countries’ appetite for sanctions which could also hurt their own economies.