RT.com
14 May 2022, 00:14 GMT+10
Hungary stalls bloc's crude oil embargo plan
A sixth round of Ukraine-related anti-Russia sanctions is unlikely to include an oil embargo, several media outlets reported citing sources within the EU government.
According to Bloomberg, EU countries are still striving to agree on the sanctions package in full, and some member states believe that the decision on Russian oil should be postponed.
Representatives of Hungary, insist that the embargo will have devastating consequences on their country's economy. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently urged that any option for an oil embargo should be discussed at a summit of EU leaders.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on Friday announced that work on the oil ban has so far reached no results.
"The work on the oil embargo continues. On Monday, the foreign ministers will deal with this... I am sure we will have an agreement. I am sure that we must get rid of the oil dependence on Russia. Since there is no solution at the ambassadorial level, it will be discussed by the ministers," he said, as cited by Russia's TASS news agency.
EU sanctions require the unanimous support of all 27 nations, but ambassadors have been unable to reach an agreement on the sixth package of sanctions, which includes a draft of an oil embargo, for nine days now.
The European Commission proposed to ban the import of Russian crude oil starting six months after the entry into force of the sixth sanctions package, and on the import of Russian petroleum products starting from 2023. At the same time, the EC offered to allow Hungary and Slovakia, which are highly dependent on Russia, to purchase oil from Moscow until the end of 2024.
According to sources, however, the EC has already had to go back on a number of its proposals on the timing of the embargo, its specifications and possible exceptions.
Hungary strongly opposes banning Russian oil, with Prime Minister Orban slamming it as a "nuclear bomb" on Hungary's economy. Budapest has the support of other EU countries who believe that the damage from this measure will be catastrophic for the bloc.
According to Politico magazine, in order to persuade Budapest, the EC has drafted plans to offer financial compensation to Hungary if it signs up to the proposed embargo. Citing three EU officials, the publication reports that this money could be "channeled to Budapest as part of the bloc's new energy strategy, which is due to be set out next week, to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels."
In addition to oil, the new sanctions package is reported to target three more Russian banks, which are to be disconnected from the SWIFT international payment system. EU foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss the package next on May 16.
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Japan Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Japan Herald.
More InformationSEOUL, South Korea: As North Korea grapples with a severe COVID-19 outbreak, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that ...
BEIJING, China: China's Foreign Ministry rebuked the U.S. for changing the wording about Taiwan on the State Department website, stressing ...
BEIJING, China: China's Green Valley Pharmaceutical company has prematurely ended an FDA approved study on its GV-971 to treat mild ...
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Although U.S. foreign policy during the first part of Joe Biden's presidency has focused more on ...
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 19 (ANI/NewsVoir): TheThere are lakhs of students who go abroad for higher studies every year. Both ...
RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, ...
SEOUL, South Korea: As North Korea grapples with a severe COVID-19 outbreak, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia mostly sank on Thursday, following on from a rout on Wall Street overnight."There ...
LONDON, England: Israeli startup REE Automotive has announced that it will build an assembly plant for electric vehicles (EVs) in ...
BEIJING, China: The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) completed a three-hour pre-delivery test flight of China's C919 aircraft at ...
NEW YORK, New York - Soaring prices have taken their toll on U.S. retailer Target which reported first-quarter profit had ...
MADRID, Spain: In a coordinated move last week, Spain and Portugal approved a temporary cap on natural gas prices.The move ...