Stumbling block – embargo on the purchase of Russian oil
< Since the European Commission announced a sixth, sanctions package against Russia , representatives of the 27 EU countries have met daily to discuss its details, according to Voice of America.
The main stumbling block is the embargo purchase of Russian oil. In particular, the Hungarian Prime Minister called it a “historic mistake”.
Last Sunday, EU governments came close to agreeing on a sixth package of sanctions against Russia. Additional talks are scheduled for Monday to agree on how to ensure that Russia's most energy-dependent countries are able to adapt to sanctions. ” for the presidency of the EU and the Commission, for the most part, very significant progress has been made. ” The challenge is to ensure landlocked oil supplies to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which are heavily dependent on Russian oil.
“We have yet to complete, in a spirit of solidarity, the work on the guarantees needed to secure the supply of oil to member states that are currently in a very specific situation with regard to the supply of pipelines from Russia,” the joint statement said. According to EU sources, on Friday the European Commission proposed changes to the planned embargo on Russian oil supplies to give the three countries more time to adapt to energy supplies from alternative sources.
According to the original plan, all EU countries were to stop buying Russian oil within six months and Russian oil products by the end of the year. The revised proposal provides assistance to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in modernizing their refineries to refine oil from other countries and postpones their abandonment of Russian oil until 2024.
There will also be a three-month transition period to a total ban on transporting Russian oil by sea, instead of one month, as originally proposed. This easing of sanctions is at the request of Greece, Malta and Cyprus, added one source.
Read also: Greek shipowners deliver Russian oil to ports closed to Russia
Recall, countries ” The G7 also pledged to phase out Russian oil imports . This is stated in a statement that appeared on Sunday, May 8, on the website of the White House.
“This is a powerful blow to the main artery of Putin's economy. It will deprive Russia of the revenue needed to finance the war. “The G7 has also pledged to work together to ensure a stable global energy supply, while intensifying our efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” the statement said.
The White House said sanctions imposed earlier have already caused enormous damage to Russia's economy. In particular, two large tank plants in Russia – Uralvagonzavod Corporation and Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant – have suspended operations due to lack of foreign components.
