The Russian oil embargo threatens to crack the European front against Putin

Preparations to include the oil embargo in the next round of European sanctions against Russia are accelerating, but this advance reveals that among the community partners with the greatest energy dependency, fear of such a cut is growing.

The risk of European unity cracking was proven this Monday during a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU, in which the impact that the renunciation of imports of Russian oil and gas would have on each country. .

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Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, who chaired the meeting of ministers, said at the end of the meeting: "Everything is on the table, including sanctions on oil and gas."

But he also pointed out that the next step would aim to restrict the import of crude oil due to its economic impact on Russian coffers and because of the ease that Europe may have in changing suppliers.

“It is important to distinguish between gas and oil, because the oil bill was four times higher than that of gas last year, so it is much more important to start with oil, which generates a higher bill and is easier to substitute,” Borrell concluded.

EU energy sanctions kicked off on Friday in the fourth round of economic punishment for Vladimir Putin's regime, which included an embargo on Russian coal.

The decision caused some screeching among the partners with the largest volume of imports of this raw material, as is the case with Germany.

But it was finally approved unanimously, given that its global impact is the most limited of all possible energy sanctions, with a damage of some 4,000 million euros a year.

Coal, a very symbolic first step

Community sources indicated, however, that it was a very symbolic first step because coal began the path towards the following energy sanctions, much more painful for Russia, but also with much more collateral damage on the European side.

Future penalties target oil, gas and nuclear fuel, three essential energy sources for many community members, especially those in the eastern part of the club.

Borrell recognized that the next energy sanctions are very delicate due to the unequal impact on each part of the Union.

"It is easy for countries that do not use Russian gas to say that they are willing to give up that gas, but for others, which are highly dependent, it is not so easy," said the head of European diplomacy at the end of the meeting, held in Luxembourg.

"We are facing a clear asymmetric

that must be managed with unity and solidarity," added Borrell.

Hungary leads the resistance against new energy sanctions.

The government of Viktor Orbán, who has just emerged victorious from elections in his country, insists that he will not accept any measure that endangers the energy security and economy of his country.

Budapest fears not only the impact of a Russian oil and gas supply cut, but also an embargo on nuclear fuel, essential for the nuclear power plant, which covers 33% of the country's electricity consumption.

Diplomatic sources acknowledge that the adoption of a new package of sanctions will enter into very thorny terrain, with an evident risk that the European unity maintained since the first punishment, adopted on February 23, after Moscow recognized the independence of the breakaway Ukrainian regions of Donbas.

These same sources do not rule out the possibility of opting for à la carte sanctions, with the most dependent countries maintaining purchases of Russian oil and others, with more possibilities of diversifying, suspending them.

But community sources remind that, in any case, the sanctions must be approved unanimously and that there is no positive abstention, as in other types of decisions.

The European Commission, for the moment, is finalizing the preparations for the oil embargo to appear in the sixth round, in anticipation that a trigger on the battlefield will make its approval inevitable.

The coal embargo came within hours of the discovery of the killings in Bucha, a city near kyiv that had been occupied for several weeks by Russian troops.

Moscow now accumulates troops in the east of the country in what is being announced as a major offensive, the largest since World War II, according to the Ukrainian government, to gain control of the eastern part of the country.

If this escalation of the conflict were to take place, the purchase of Russian oil by Europe would be increasingly unsustainable.

In fact, the embargo is gaining support within the EU, beyond the usual defenders such as Sweden or the Baltic countries.

"The EU is spending hundreds of millions of euros to import oil from Russia, which is undoubtedly helping to finance the war," Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in Luxembourg.

“We need to cut that funding;

the sooner the better,” he added.

Unease is also growing in Sweden, a country that, along with Finland, feels threatened by Moscow, to the point that both are considering ending their historic neutrality to join NATO.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde noted that "the EU is already starting with a sixth [sanctions package]."

And that “the debate now is about the sanction against oil imports;

It is not an easy matter, but it is what the EU has to do”.

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