The 27 heads of state and government pledge to reduce energy dependency on Russia. But there is no agreement on how – and one swerves again.
Two weeks after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the cracks in the European unity, which has been so eloquently promised, are becoming ever clearer. While the Union’s 27 heads of state and government actually set themselves the goal of reducing dependence on Russian energy sources as quickly as possible at their meeting in Versailles on Thursday and Friday, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is backing down. On Thursday afternoon, he announced through his spokesman that he would “oppose sanctions in the oil and gas sector”.
Such are currently not on the program anyway. The EU leaders are well aware of the fact that they are open to political blackmail by buying Russian gas for an average of around 700 million euros a day. At the same time, however, she is concerned about the social consequences of the rapidly rising energy prices. In Belgium, for example, around 100 petrol stations had to close on Thursday because, given the high oil prices, they are currently only able to sell petrol and diesel at their pumps at a loss.
“The West needs deputinization”
Nevertheless, Orbán’s going it alone threatens to shatter the arduously united front of the Europeans. Donald Tusk, Poland’s former prime minister and ex-president of the European Council, called Orbán a “useful idiot” to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting of his European People’s Party, which he now chairs. “The West needs deputinization.”