EU’s “broken unity” on Russia oil embargo

On May 29, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the solidarity that EU demonstrated after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine is beginning to “collapse”. The warning comes ahead of an EU summit on May 30-3 to discuss a sixth package of sanctions against Russia and a potential oil embargo.

“After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, we have seen what can happen when Europe is united. With a view to the EU summit, let’s hope unity continues like this. But no, it has begun to crumble,” RT quoted Minister Habeck as saying at a press conference.

The EU is seeking consensus on imposing an oil embargo on Russia, with many member states expressing concern that the move would become dangerous for their economies.

Hungary, which imports most of its oil from Russia, is the strongest opponent of the embargo, comparing the potential impact of an outright ban to an “atomic bomb”. Similar concerns about the embargo have also been voiced by other landlocked countries, such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered an explanation as to why EU continues to buy oil from Russia.

“If we completely cut off Russian oil immediately, then Russian President Vladimir Putin can put the oil he doesn’t sell to the EU on the world market, where the price will go up, and sell it at a higher price. – and that money will fund the war in Ukraine,” von der Leyen said in an interview with MSNBC.

However, Ms. von der Leyen insisted that getting rid of Russia’s dependence on oil and gas remains one of the EU’s big goals in the long run.

“Over time, what we do is get rid of Russia’s total dependence on fossil fuels, all three fuels, and never go back again… If anything, Mr. Putin If he does, he has lost his best client and Europe will never return. It’s good that he pushed us to switch to renewable energy,” von der Leyen said.

EU diplomats are said to have tried to come up with a compromise solution to the sanctions deadlock, starting the embargo by banning Russian oil shipments by sea while still allowing shipping by sea. pipeline.

According to Bloomberg, the proposed amendment was sent to the governments of member countries on May 28.

The EU’s executive body said that oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline, which connects Russia with Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, should now be exempt from the embargo. this bloc is trying to impose on Moscow.

The proposal is said to be in response to Hungary’s objections, giving it more time to find an alternative source for the Russian oil pipeline.

For seaborne supplies, all EU countries will forgo Russian crude oil delivered by tanker for six months and refined petroleum products for eight months.

The European Commission has also proposed restricting the re-export of oil purchased by pipelines from Russia to other member states or to third countries.

The EU has imposed many sanctions packages on Russia after it launched a large-scale military operation in Ukraine at the end of February. EU countries are trying to find consensus on new sanctions during a two-day summit on 30-3 May.