Hungary blocks EU oil embargo

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Refinery in Schwedt: Russian oil will soon only come to the EU by pipeline and no longer by ship

Photo: FILIP SINGER / EPA

In the dispute over a European oil embargo against Russia, the EU Commission has presented a new compromise proposal.

According to information from the authority on Sunday, the draft initially only allows the import of oil transported by ship to be phased out.

Oil transported via the huge Druzhba pipeline would therefore be exempt from the embargo until further notice.

This would allow Russia to continue part of its business with companies in the EU.

According to EU information, around a third of the total delivery volume flowed through the Druzhba pipeline.

This supplies refineries in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic as well as in Poland and Germany, although Germany and Poland have already made it clear that they want to exit Russian oil by the end of this year, regardless of an embargo.

After initial consultations on Sunday evening, the EU Commission was optimistic that its new proposal had a chance of being approved by all 27 member states.

It is to be presented at the summit meeting of heads of state and government beginning this Monday.

An agreement can be expected in the coming week, according to commission circles on Sunday.

Anger about Hungary among EU partners

The majority of the other member countries were anything but enthusiastic about Hungary's actions, according to diplomatic circles.

The federal government has also spoken out in favor of a complete ban on imports of Russian oil, with no exception for pipelines.

To make matters worse, Hungary not only wants to continue purchasing Russian oil, but is already demanding large payments from the EU to finance the cost of detaching itself from Russian oil.

Budapest is said to be demanding 550 million euros to convert its refineries to oil from other sources and 200 million euros to expand the Adriatic pipeline, which Hungary uses to obtain oil via Croatia.

The new compromise proposal is now to be presented to the ambassadors again on Monday morning.

However, insiders believe it is unlikely that an agreement will be reached in time for the two-day special EU summit, which begins on Monday afternoon.

The heads of state and government would then have to explain to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was connected via video, why they were left empty-handed.

Greece, Cyprus and Malta also pushed for exceptions

There has been a dispute in the EU for weeks about plans to ban Russian oil imports because Hungary has so far been unwilling to support the project.

The country justifies this with its high dependence on Russian oil supplies and the high costs of switching to other suppliers.

According to information from the German Press Agency, the most recent compromise proposal no longer envisages a transport ban for oil.

Greece, Cyprus and Malta had argued that such regulations threatened the existence of shipping companies.

mbe/wal/dpa