The unanimity of the European Union is weakening on the question of Russian oil.
Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban ruled on Friday that Brussels had crossed "a red line" by wanting to ban imports of Russian oil.
“Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “whether or not she attacked European unity,” he said in a radio interview.
“I said yes to the first five sanctions packages, but we made it clear from the start that there was a red line: the energy embargo.
They have crossed this line (…), there is a moment when you have to say stop, ”he added.
“There will be no yes from Hungary”
Hungary had already said on Wednesday its opposition to the embargo project "in its current form", and Viktor Orban, close before the invasion of Russian President Vladimir Putin, drives the point home.
"We need a unanimous decision, as long as the Hungarian question is not resolved, there will be no yes from Hungary", he insisted, without wanting to use the word "veto".
"The proposal has been returned to the sender, to Madam President for her to rework it, we are awaiting a new proposal", added the leader.
The unanimity of the 27 is imperative for the adoption of sanctions by the EU.
It has been obtained for the previous five rounds of sanctions.
"A nuclear bomb on the Hungarian economy"
The Commission recommends in its 6th package of sanctions “a ban on all Russian oil, crude and refined, transported by sea and by pipeline” by the end of 2022. According to Viktor Orban, the Europeans had recognized “the sovereign right of each country over its energy mix”, Hungary being 65% dependent on Russian oil.
An embargo “would be equivalent to a nuclear bomb dropped on the Hungarian economy”, launched Friday the Prime Minister, accustomed to arm wrestling with his European partners for twelve years.
The derogation planned for his country until the end of 2023 by the Commission is in his view in no way satisfactory.
"The total transformation of the Hungarian transport and energy supply system" requiring "five years" is proving very expensive to implement, he insisted.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: five minutes to understand the European embargo project on Russian oil
“We are not going anywhere with a one-and-a-half-year exemption,” he said, adding that Budapest would accept the proposal if crude oil delivered by pipelines were excluded from the package.
Viktor Orban also protested against the inclusion in the sanctions package of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who showed support for the offensive.
"We will not allow church leaders to be put on a sanctions list," he said.
