An oil well in Baku, March 19, 2019 (AFP / Mladen ANTONOV)
Hungary is blocking the proposed European embargo on Russian oil and difficult negotiations will continue between the 27 member countries of the EU to find an agreement over the weekend, several diplomatic sources told AFP on Friday.
“If no agreement is reached this weekend, I should convene an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers next week, after Europe Day,” said EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrel.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban toughened his tone on Friday morning, saying the European Commission’s proposal to ban purchases of oil and petroleum products from Russia by the end of the year was “undermining” EU unity.
“From the beginning, we clearly indicated that there was a red line, namely the embargo on energy. They crossed this line”, he denounced during an interview on the radio.
The unanimity of the Twenty-Seven is required for the adoption of sanctions.
Negotiations at the level of member states’ ambassadors are “complicated”, said a diplomat. A first meeting ended without agreement at midday.
“The most important question is that of the security of supplies. It is existential for Hungary”, a landlocked country dependent on Russian deliveries, because significant technological investments are necessary to adapt its refineries to other types of crude oil, he explained.
A new meeting of ambassadors is scheduled for this weekend. “It will be held when the technical consultations have progressed sufficiently,” he said.
“Hungary has a problem and (the ambassadors) have to solve it. Technical clarifications are needed, and it will take some time. It will continue over the weekend for technical work, not political,” confirmed another Diplomat.
– Security of supplies –
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he was confident. “There are countries with different positions in terms of oil and gas dependence,” he said in an interview with Euronews.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, April 27, 2022 in Rembelszczyzna, near Warsaw (AFP / JANEK SKARZYNSKI)
“There are discussions with the European Commission about what the transition periods could be. However, they will not block these sanctions, as far as I know,” he said.
The proposal submitted to member states on Wednesday provides for a halt in imports of Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of 2022.
A one-year derogation until the end of 2023 is planned for Hungary and Slovakia, but it was deemed insufficient. It has been extended until the end of 2024 in the new version of the project discussed on Friday and the Czech Republic is also granted this possibility, according to concordant sources.
In 2021, Russia supplied 30% of crude and 15% of petroleum products purchased by the EU. The three countries requesting a derogation represent “a small percentage” of purchases, the Commission pointed out.
The inclusion of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a clear supporter of the Russian offensive, among the new personalities on the EU blacklist is also disputed, it was said.
The sixth package of sanctions against Russia also targets the financial sector with the exclusion of the largest Russian bank, Sberkank (37% of the Russian market), and two other banking establishments from the international financial system Swift. And three Russian television channels, including Russia 24 and Russia RTR, would be banned from broadcasting in the EU, according to the document seen by AFP.
“I am convinced that we will adopt this package. If it takes one more day, it will take one more day,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The objective is the entry into force of the sixth set of European sanctions for the celebration of the 72nd day of Europe on May 9. This date is also celebrated in Russia as “Victory Day” over Nazi Germany.