Hungary Holds Up EU Agreement to Sanction Russian Oil

"The European Union is struggling to finalize the terms of an oil embargo on Russia amid resistance by Hungary, whose leader claimed Friday that the proposed embargo would hit his economy like an atomic bomb.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long cultivated close ties with Moscow and hasn't joined other EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries in trying to arm Ukraine. He is insisting on more time and EU money if Hungary is to join the rest of the bloc in transitioning away from Russian oil, diplomats say.

Hungary's opposition means an oil-embargo deal wasn't approved Friday, as officials had hoped, but is still possible by Monday, according to people familiar with the EU's negotiations. All 27 member states need to agree to the sanctions package, the bloc's sixth since Feb. 24.

The EU's executive body, the European Commission, recently sent member states a proposal that would see the bloc stop crude-oil purchases from Russia within six months, and ban the import of Russian refined oil products by year-end. The proposed sanctions include the removal of three more Russian banks from the Swift financial messaging network and a ban on providing services to Russia, including insurance for oil shipments.

The commission proposed offering Hungary and Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on Russian oil delivered via the Druzhba pipeline, a year longer than the rest of the EU to stop buying Russian energy imports.

However, in an updated proposal, circulated Friday by the commission, Hungary and Slovakia were offered until the end of 2024 to cut off Russian oil imports. The Czech Republic, which has also lobbied for more time, would get until mid-2024.

Mr. Orban slammed the commission's proposal in an interview with state radio Friday. "The proposal on the table now creates a Hungarian problem, and there is no plan to solve it," he said, saying his country needed five years to shift away from Russian energy.

Mr. Orban accused the commission of breaking EU unity over Ukraine, saying he had always warned that embargoes on Russian energy would be very hard on Hungary. Mr. Orban said the bloc's sanctions have hit the European economy harder than Russia's -- an argument that no other EU leaders have made.

Mr. Orban won re-election in April after pledging that his government would maintain a distance from the Ukraine war and reject measures that lead to Hungarian economic pain." [1]

 

The goat beard of Mr. Landsbergis should be seen now not in Vilnius, only in Hungary. How dares he not to work day and night for more devastating sanctions, not to please Kyiv constantly. 

1. The Ukraine Crisis: Hungary Holds Up EU Agreement to Sanction Russian Oil
Norman, Laurence. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 07 May 2022: A.7.