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BRUSSELS – The European Union is not done talking about Russian oil. Nor has his purchase ended.
In talks Monday morning, EU ambassadors again failed to reach an agreement on phasing out oil imports from Russia due to ongoing opposition from Hungary, keeping the issue on the EU’s agenda – and Russian oil flowing to Europe – for at least another day. .
The issue now threatens to overshadow the two-day European Council summit on the war in Ukraine, which begins Monday afternoon in Brussels, where EU leaders will discuss a timetable plan that would ban supplies by sea but release oil through pipelines.
A senior EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to inform the press, said the European Council hoped to reach a political agreement on Monday’s revised proposal. It is unclear whether all 27 leaders will sign.
Arriving at the summit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he had seen the revised proposal and still did not agree. He welcomed the decision to release the oil through pipelines – a request from Hungary as a start – but said he also needed assurances that Russian oil supplies from his country would be protected if anything happened to the pipeline passing through Ukraine. to Hungary.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that there would be a deal in the end. “My expectations are low that it will be resolved in the next 48 hours,” she told reporters when she arrived at the Brussels summit.
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On May 30, the European Union once again failed to reach an agreement on the phasing out of oil imports from Russia due to ongoing opposition from Hungary. (Video: Reuters)
At the beginning of the meeting, EU leaders listened to a virtual address behind closed doors of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. European Council President Charles Michel thanked Zelenski for his “sincere” statements. “We will increase your liquidity and help you rebuild Ukraine,” he tweeted. “We will continue to strengthen your ability to defend your people and your country.
While EU officials and leaders would like to keep the focus on EU support for Ukraine, they will not be able to escape the fact that Europe continues to buy large quantities of Russian oil, keeping money flowing to the Kremlin.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, member states are trying to find ways to get rid of Russian fossil fuels while providing enough energy to sustain lights across Europe. They agreed to phase out the coal, but oil talks were more difficult and have now been delayed for weeks by Orban.
Orban likened the EU’s oil ban to launching a “nuclear bomb” on his country’s economy and called for more time and money to upgrade his country’s landlocked oil infrastructure. Although he was willing to give concessions to Hungary and other countries that rely heavily on Russian pipeline oil, the Hungarian leader has received an extension, but continues to push for more, according to EU officials and diplomats.
Some are concerned that Orbán, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies in Europe, appears to be using the situation to retaliate against EU officials for holding back money for Hungary’s economic recovery and threatening to withhold billions in democratic subsidies. retreat.
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The table’s latest proposal calls for a ban on offshore supplies, but so far exempts pipeline supplies, keeping oil flows from Russia to several EU countries, including Hungary, according to a draft proposal received from The Washington Post. The project does not set deadlines for the release.
Releasing pipeline oil would mitigate the impact of oil measures. An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the press that the phasing out of all maritime supplies would affect about two-thirds of imports.
The exemption for pipeline oil allows continued deliveries through the Druzhba network, which passes through Belarus to Poland and on to Germany, and through Ukraine to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. With Poland and Germany already pledging to give up Russian oil this year, the bloc could theoretically cut even further.
There is no doubt, however, that the compromise and the message he is sending are a boon to Russia, which has many people in Brussels asking questions about what went wrong.
Many EU officials and diplomats have tried to downplay Hungary’s role by defining the challenges as technical rather than political.
A senior EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said that in an attempt to move quickly, EU officials and diplomats have failed to look closely enough at what oil would mean for Member States that receive the most or all its oil from Russia.
“Under the pressure of this war, we took some steps too early and are now facing the consequences,” the senior diplomat said.
Others see the issue as inherently political – and all about Orban. “When something is ceded to Hungary, they want more,” said another EU diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous to discuss the ongoing talks.
“Let’s see what happens to Orban tonight,” the diplomat continued. “He is the one who determines the blows.”
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