A draft embargo on oil and petroleum products purchased from Russia was submitted overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in European Union (EU) member countries, but the proposal still raises reservations, authorities said. AFP several officials and diplomats in Europe.
The European Commission on Tuesday ended its proposal for a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow to reduce funding for its war efforts against Ukraine.
It provides a gradual cessation of purchases in Europe for six to eight months, until the end of 2022, with exemptions for Hungary and Slovakia. These two countries, which are landlocked and highly dependent on Druzhba pipeline deliveries, will be able to resume their purchases from Russia in 2023, a European official said.
The whole replacement process will take several years, so I will insist on this exemptionsaid Slovak Economy Minister Richard Sulik on a daily basis TASR.
This reduction is problematic, as Bulgaria and the Czech Republic also want to benefit from it, knowledgeable diplomats explained in discussions led by the Commission.
There are countries that cannot stand itincluding Bulgaria, which is almost 100% dependent on Russia’s oil, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov warned on television on Sunday.
” We must avoid the impact of contamination, everyone wants exemptions. We need to find the right solutions. “
The commissioners who gathered in Strasbourg for the plenary session of the European Parliament adopted the proposal in the evening from Tuesday to Wednesday because of the difficulties caused by one of them, we learned.
It was informed around midnight to the ambassadors of the Member States that it will begin studying it at the first meeting on Wednesday in Brussels, two sources inAFP.
No communication from the Commission was planned before President Ursula von der Leyen spoke to MEPs on Wednesday morning, several sources said.
I don’t know if adoption of the proposal will be possible over the weekendsaid German Energy Minister Robert Habeck on Monday after a meeting with his counterparts in Brussels.
” Unity is needed, nothing is guaranteed. Each new package of sanctions against Russia is more difficult to use, as it imposes political choices on each member state. “
Hungarian reservations
We will not vote for sanctions that would make it impossible to supply Hungary with oil or gasHungarian Finance Minister Peter Szijjarto warned on Tuesday.
This is not a political decision […] this is a real supply issue for us, because it is currently impossible for Hungary and its economy to function without Russia’s oilhe justified.
According to Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, 65% of the oil and 85% of the gas used by Hungary comes from Russia.
Ideally, everyone should do the same thing at the same time, but if the two countries need more time to stop shopping, that’s not bad.said a European diplomat.
Russia exports two-thirds of its oil toEU. By 2021, it will supply 30% of crude and 15% of petroleum products purchased byEU and the bill reached 80 billion dollars, European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell indicated.
In addition to the progressive embargo, Twenty-Seven is also reviewing immediate measures such as a tax on the transport of tankers, according to the European official.
The new set of sanctions also provides for the exclusion of other Russian banks from the Swift interbank system and the inclusion of propagandists of the Russian regime and authors of disinformation in the blacklist of persons prohibited fromEUsaid Tuesday the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
Seven Russian establishments have already been banned in Swift’sEU. Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, which represents 37% of the market, will be part of it, according to some diplomatic sources.
Source: Radio-Canada
