The leaders of the European Union (EU) reached an agreement on Monday night on the embargo to “more than two thirds” of its purchases of Russian oil, as part of its sixth package of sanctions for the war in Ukraine.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced that the approved embargo affects “more than two thirds” of European imports of Russian crude, in an agreement sealed during a summit of leaders of the bloc in the Belgian capital.
The measure will serve to cut off “a huge source of funding” of the “war machine” Russian, he added. Michel.
This extraordinary summit had started amid pessimistic statements about the possibilities of an agreement, but the negotiations that dragged on without rest ended up allowing an understanding.
The sixth package of sanctions proposed by the EU against Russia, for the war in Ukraine, included He floated the idea of a total embargo on Russian oil, but that initiative crashed. It is opposed by Hungary, which fears for its energy security.
The way out found by the negotiators was to adopt an embargo that will initially affect the country’s energy supply. This applies to imports of Russian oil arriving in the EU by sea, excluding deliveries by pipeline for now.
In addition, Germany and Poland promised to renounce until the end of this year the Russian oil they receive through the Druzhba pipeline -the same one that supplies Hungary- and this would raise the embargo to a 90% of Russia’s crude purchases.
The part of the Summit Conclusions relating to sanctions mentions a “temporary exception” to the sanctions. to crude delivered via pipeline.
“The European Council agreed that the sixth package of sanctions against Russia will cover the oil, so such as petroleum products, delivered from Russia to member states, with a temporary exception for crude oil delivered by pipeline,” the document reads.
The extension The end of the embargo on oil delivered through pipelines will be started “as soon as possible,” added the document.
The leaders also called for all bloc countries to respect the sanctions: “any attempt to circumvent the sanctions or help Russia by other means must be stopped,” they noted.
< strong>Request for unity
On the day, the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, connected with by videoconference and formulated a dramatic call for the EU to put aside internal disputes, maintain unity against Russia, and adopt the oil embargo.
“It is time that they are not divided, they are not fragments, but a united whole,” he pointed out.
Zelenski thanked to “all those who are promoting the sixth package of sanctions and trying to make it effective. Unfortunately, however, for some reason we have still reached that point.”
“Clearly there must be progress on sanctions for aggression. And for us it is very necessary,” he added.
European leaders also agreed to send Ukraine 9 billion euros (equivalent to about 9.63 billion dollars) to support its economy, the official announced. Michel.
The Council “will continue to helping Ukraine with its immediate liquidity needs,” he tweeted. the official, who also mentioned
Hungary pressed for “firm and concrete support for the reconstruction of Ukraine”. for guarantees
However, upon arriving at the meeting in Brussels, the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, had announced that the agreement was not ready and that his country would demand guarantees to lift its opposition. n to measure.
Hungary, a landlocked country, imports 65% of the oil it consumes from RussiaIt flows through the Druzhba pipeline and, along with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, have applied for an exception to the import ban.
That pipeline runs through Ukraine, and Orban fears that the Zelensky government cut off that supply in retaliation for Hungarian resistance to supporting the oil embargo.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the Adria oleodoctor, in Croatia could be used to supply Hungary through investments for its expansion and adaptation of refineries.
In addition to the controversial oil embargo, the sixth plan The EU’s action against Russia also includes the withdrawal of more Russian banks from the Swift interbank network and the inclusion of new names on the list of sanctioned Russian officials.
Thus, the EU excluded to the largest Russian bank, Sberbank, of the Swift network. Thus, there are already seven Russian banks removed from access to that interbank network.