Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban evaluated today that the European Union (EU) has crossed the “red line” by wanting to suspend Russian oil imports. The war in Ukraine.
“He has attacked the European union, willingly or not,” said Ursula von der Leyen, “Head of the Commission,” in a radio interview with the nationalist leader.
“I said ‘yes’ to the first five sanctions packages, but from the very beginning we made it clear that there was a red line, namely the energy embargo, and they crossed that line (…) and as soon as possible, before the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin The prime minister, who is close to , said it was necessary to say “enough”.
This Friday was stronger after Orban expressed his opposition to the embargo project “as it stands” on Wednesday (4).
“A unanimous decision is required. As long as the Hungarian question is not resolved, “yes” will not come from Hungary,” he insisted, not wanting to use the word “veto”.
Referring to Ursula von der Leyen, she said, “It has been sent back to the President so that he can work on the proposal again, and we are waiting for a new proposal.”
For a sanction to be passed in the bloc, as with the first five series of sanctions, the unanimous consent of the 27 EU members is required.
For this sixth package, the Commission foresees a “ban of all Russian crude and refined oil, sea and pipeline transported” by the end of the year.
Orban said on Friday that Hungary is completely dependent on Russian oil, meaning an embargo would be the equivalent of a “nuclear bomb on its economy.”
The Prime Minister claims that the cancellation that the European Commission has foreseen for his country by the end of 2023 is not enough, because the “total transformation of the Hungarian transport and energy supply system” should take “about five years” and will take too long. expensive.
“We’re not going anywhere with a one-and-a-half year exemption,” Orban insisted, adding that he could accept the offer if his country left out the crude oil coming from its pipelines.
Orban also protested the inclusion of Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, in these sanctions because he supported the attack.
“We will not allow church leaders to be sanctioned,” he said.
source: Noticias
