Europe divided over Russia’s oil embargo

In a letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on May 5, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary and the European Union (EU) are generally not ready to adopt the proposal of the European Commission. about imposing orders banning oil imports from Russia.

In fact, the cut off oil supply from Russia will be an extremely difficult and divisive task within the EU as there are differences in the degree of dependence on Russian supplies between countries. The closer European countries are to Russia, the more dependent they are.

Hungary, Slovakia or Bulgaria import more than 75% of their oil from Russia and it can be very difficult to find alternative sources.

Mr. Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, said: “Hungary can only agree to these sanctions if the transit of crude oil through the pipeline is exempt from the sanctions. In that case, Hungary’s energy security will be guaranteed. Otherwise, that package of sanctions will destroy Hungary’s energy security. And as such, we cannot support this package of sanctions“.

Under the proposal, the EU would ban imports of Russian oil for a period of 6-8 months, while Hungary and Slovakia would be allowed to extend it for a few more months.

However, Slovakia, a country like Hungary that is almost 100% dependent on Russian crude oil, says it will take several years.

Gas pipeline system of Gazprom Corporation (Russia). (Photo: EPA/VNA)

The Czech Republic will also support the new EU sanctions package when it can increase the capacity of oil pipelines flowing to the country.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated:We want to guarantee that the Czech Republic will be delayed for 2-3 years, and then we will certainly be ready to support this package of sanctions.“.

Observers say that cutting off crude oil supplies from Russia is a very expensive decision because there are many types of crude oil with different characteristics, while refineries are often designed to use only one type. determined.

The Hungarian oil company estimates that it could take up to four years and $700 million to reconfigure refineries in the event of a ban on Russian oil.

Besides, the Russian oil ban could cause costly competition for alternative supply. Currently, oil from Saudi Arabia is the most suitable to replace Russian oil, but Riyadh has not seen any move to increase production to meet European demand. Supply from Iran or Venezuela is also subject to international sanctions.

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