EU leaders agree on Russian oil embargo
Package includes exemptions to placate Hungary and
other countries worried about domestic impact.
BY JACOPO
BARIGAZZI AND BARBARA MOENS
May 31,
2022 12:43 am
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-leaders-agree-on-russian-oil-embargo/
“Agreement
to ban export of Russian oil to the EU,” European Council President Charles
Michel tweeted from a leaders’ summit in Brussels. “This immediately covers
more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing
for its war machine.”
The Council
of the EU must still formally agree on the sanctions.
The
compromise will allow Russia’s pipeline oil exports to the EU to continue
temporarily, while seaborne shipments are blocked by the end of the year, as
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced earlier this
month.
Von der
Leyen tweeted that the leaders’ agreement “will effectively cut around 90% of
oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.”
Germany and
Poland, which could benefit from the pipeline exemption, have committed
themselves to a de facto shutdown of the northern Druzhba pipeline, several EU
diplomats said.
There is
also an agreement to “complete the [closure of the] southern branch as soon as
possible,” an Elysée official said. The southern leg of the pipeline delivers
oil to Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
An EU
official said the Czech Republic got an 18-month exemption from the ban to
cover the resale of oil products.
Hungary has
also ensured an there is an emergency provision to ensure the security of
supply if their pipeline deliveries are cut off, EU diplomats said.
Slapping an
embargo on Russian oil would be one of Europe’s most significant steps in
restricting the revenue available to President Vladimir Putin to wage war in
Ukraine. But the proposed move was held up for several weeks by Hungary, which
argued its economy would be hammered by a blanket ban.
David M.
Herszenhorn, Lili Bayer and Giorgio Leali contributed reporting.
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