A new version of the European embargo project on Russian oil with modifications requested by several member states is being discussed on Friday in Brussels, but Hungary is blocking the proposal, several diplomatic sources told AFP.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban toughened his tone on Friday, saying the European Commission’s proposal to ban purchases of oil and petroleum products from Russia by the end of the year “undermined” the unity of the European Union.
“From the start, we made it clear that there was a red line, namely the energy embargo. They crossed that line,” he said in a radio interview.
Negotiations at the level of member states’ ambassadors will be “complicated”, said a diplomat. The unanimity of the 27 is required for the adoption of sanctions.
“The problem with the sanctions is that the agreement must go through the capitals,” explained a diplomat after Viktor Orban’s position.
The proposal submitted to member states on Wednesday calls for a halt to imports of crude oil within six months and of refined products by the end of 2022. It grants a one-year derogation until the end of 2023 to Hungary and Slovakia , two landlocked countries dependent on deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline.
The duration of this derogation was considered insufficient by Hungary and Slovakia. And the Czech Republic has asked to benefit from it.
This duration was extended until the end of 2024 in the new version of the project discussed on Friday and the Czech Republic is also granted this possibility, it was indicated.
“But we have gone from derogations to a request for exemptions, which pushes the cork a little too far”, underlined a diplomat.
The inclusion of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a clear supporter of the Russian offensive, among the new personalities on the EU blacklist is also disputed, it was said.
The sixth package of sanctions against Russia also targets the financial sector with the exclusion of the largest Russian bank, Sberkank (37% of the Russian market), and two other banking establishments from the international financial system Swift. And three Russian television channels, including Russia 24 and Russia RTR, would be banned from broadcasting in the EU, according to the document seen by AFP.
“Time is running out,” said a diplomat. “I think an agreement can be found by Sunday,” said one of his counterparts.
“The countries that are hesitating today are not yet ready,” acknowledged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday.
“They don’t have access to the sea and we are talking to them to find solutions […] so that they have the guarantee of having security for their supplies with enough oil delivered, ”she explained in a videoconference intervention for a congress organized by the German daily FAZ.
“I am convinced that we will adopt this package. If it takes another day, it will take another day,” she said.
The objective is the entry into force of the sixth set of European sanctions for the celebration of the 72nd day of Europe on May 9. This date is also celebrated in Russia as “Victory Day” over Nazi Germany.