The European Union has announced plans to ban Russian oil by the end of the year as part of a sixth package of sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the bloc’s parliament in Strasbourg that member states should cease to buy oil supplies within six months and associated refined products from Russia by the end of 2022.
The sanctions are yet to be formally approved by the 27 national governments and could yet be vetoed by those who are reliant on supplies from Russia, such as Hungary and Slovakia, without exemption conditions and energy security guarantees being agreed.
Image: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs ‘we must work’ to secure an oil embargoMs von der Leyen proposed: “This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.
“It will not be easy. Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it.”
“(Vladimir) Putin must pay a price, a high price, for his brutal aggression,” she said to applause across the parliament’s chamber. The Kremlin responded by saying it was evaluating its options.
The EU’s move follows a similar measure announced by Britain in early March but the country secures far less oil and oil products from Russia than many EU member states.
Hungary and Slovakia had already threatened to veto any outright ban before the announcement though they are to be given until the end of 2023 to eliminate Russian oil.
While the EU relies on Russia for around 26% of its supplies, Slovakia secures over 90% of its oil from Russia.
A majority of Hungary’s oil is also sourced from Russia.
BRUSSELS FACES CLIMATE BACKLASH OVER RUSSIA BAN PLAN Siobhan Robbins @SiobhanRobbinsBefore the proposed ban on Russian oil imports was announced there had been concern that three main countries could block it: Germany, Hungary and Slovakia.
In recent days, Germany has signalled that it won’t stand in the way. Essentially, since the war in Ukraine began the country has been working hard to find alternative oil supplies and now seemingly feels confident enough in its back-up plan.
Ultimately, turning off Russian gas is a much bigger worry.
Slovakia and Hungary are a different matter due to their high level of dependence on Russian oil supplies. The reported exemption that would give them until the end of 2023 before the ban kicked in may be compromise enough to get the plan across the line.
Despite this, campaigners are angry by what they see is a tepid move.
Marissa Reiserer from Greenpeace Germany told me: “It is hard to bear that the EU wants to buy Russian oil for another six months while people are being murdered in Ukraine every day. Germany, as the biggest buyer, and the vast majority of EU states could stop oil imports much sooner. There is no justification for filling Putin’s war chest for months to come.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by her colleagues in Hungary who warn rather than gripping onto Russian oil supplies, the government should be seriously focussing on securing energy from a range of sources including their own renewables.
This way, they say, Hungary can ensure it doesn’t become an energy hostage to other states in the future.
Germany, which had been initially reluctant to support such measures, has managed to bring its share of Russian oil imports down to 25% and signalled it could now cope with an embargo.
However, the country’s economy minister admitted on Wednesday that there were no guarantees that supplies across the region would not face disruption – with EU countries likely to face higher prices to replace Russian output.
Hungary remains sceptical and could yet bring down an agreement.
Read more:How reliant is the EU on Russian oil and what are the consequences of banning it?
Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said of the blueprint: “We do not see any plans or guarantees on how a transition could be managed based on the current proposals, and how Hungary’s energy security would be guaranteed.”
The EU’s announcement was credited with sending Brent crude prices higher on Wednesday morning – up more than 3% at just below $109 a barrel.
There was no announcement from the Commission on any measures targeting gas imports.
But Ms von der Leyen said there would be new sanctions to outlaw Russian broadcasters RTR-Planeta and R24 and target banks, including Sberbank.
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She said Russia’s largest lender and two others would be added to the list of those excluded from the SWIFT messaging system.
More high-ranking Russian military officials were to face asset freezes and travel bans, she said, without divulging the names.
Simone Tagliapietra of the Brussels-based Bruegel think-tank said the energy strategy was dangerous in that it risked adding to Europe’s existing inflation problem.
“In the short term it might leave Russian revenues high while implying negative consequences for the EU and the global economy in terms of higher prices – not to mention retaliation risks (by Russia) on natural gas supplies,” he said.