European Union countries are in talks on an agreement to block Russia’s oil imports, for which pipeline deliveries would be exempt, some officials said on Friday.
The idea is to split the oil embargo between deliveries by pipeline and deliveries by seasaid an officer. Pipeline deliveries will be exempt from penalties, time to look for alternativesHe added.
Another official said an agreement could be sealed by the ambassadors of EU member states in Brussels on Sunday, ahead of the leaders ’summit scheduled for May 30-31.
Three-quarters of Russia’s oil reserved for Europe is delivered by tankers, according to think tank Bruegel. An embargo on sea deliveries would still have a major impact on Russia’s oil revenues, reducing its ability to finance its war with Ukraine.
Imports through the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary (three landlocked countries that will have the biggest problem finding alternative oil supplies), will continue.
But it will also create competition problems withinEU. In fact, the refineries of these three countries can get Russian oil at a lower cost than their competitors in other European countries.
Overcome the reluctance of some countries
Hungary’s hostility to oil sanctions and the reluctance of a handful of other countries have delayed the implementation of the sixth round of 27-member sanctions.EU against Russia.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, warned in a letter to other European leaders that it was useless to ride the path of an oil embargo, as he would oppose it and thus be removedEU the unity it needs.
Gergely Gulyas, his chief of staff, told Reuters on Thursday that Hungary would need three to four years to find solutions that would allow him to rid himself of Russia’s oil.
Budapest says it needs approximately 750 million euros ($ 1 billion) in short-term investment to modernize its refineries and expand the pipeline that carries Croatian oil. In the longer term, Hungary will need 18 billion euros ($ 24.6 billion) to make investments that will allow it to no longer rely on Russian oil, an amount it hopes the Union will fund. .
Source: Radio-Canada
