The unanimity of the European Union is weakening on the question of Russian oil. Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban ruled on Friday that Brussels had crossed “a red line” by wanting to ban imports of Russian oil. “Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “whether or not she attacked European unity,” he said in a radio interview.
As the unanimity of the Twenty-Seven is required for the adoption of the sanctions, the Hungarian disagreement will lead to difficult negotiations will continue between the 27 member countries of the EU to find an agreement during the weekend. “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. “I am convinced that we will adopt this package. If it takes another day, it will take another day,” said Ursula von der Leyen.
“There will be no yes from Hungary”
Hungary had already said on Wednesday its opposition to the embargo project “in its current form”, and Viktor Orban, close before the invasion of Russian President Vladimir Putin, drives the point home this Friday. “We need a unanimous decision, as long as the Hungarian question is not resolved, there will be no yes from Hungary”, he insisted, without wanting to use the word “veto”.
“I said yes to the first five sanctions packages, but we made it clear from the start that there was a red line: the energy embargo. They have crossed this line (…), there is a moment when you have to say stop, ”he added.
“The proposal has been returned to the sender, to Madam President for her to rework it, we are awaiting a new proposal”, added the leader. The unanimity of the 27 is imperative for the adoption of sanctions by the EU. It has been obtained for the previous five rounds of sanctions.
“A nuclear bomb on the Hungarian economy”
The Commission recommends in its 6th package of sanctions “a ban on all Russian oil, crude and refined, transported by sea and by pipeline” by the end of 2022. According to Viktor Orban, the Europeans had recognized “the sovereign right of each country over its energy mix”, Hungary being 65% dependent on Russian oil. An embargo “would be equivalent to a nuclear bomb dropped on the Hungarian economy”, launched Friday the Prime Minister, accustomed to arm wrestling with his European partners for twelve years.
The derogation planned for his country until the end of 2023 by the Commission is in his view in no way satisfactory. “The total transformation of the Hungarian transport and energy supply system” requiring “five years” is proving very expensive to implement, he insisted.
“We are not going anywhere with a one-and-a-half-year exemption,” he said, adding that Budapest would accept the proposal if crude oil delivered by pipelines were excluded from the package. Viktor Orban also protested against the inclusion in the sanctions package of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who showed support for the offensive. “We will not allow church leaders to be put on a sanctions list,” he said.
Ensuring “security of supply”
Concerning the embargo, the negotiations carried out at the level of the ambassadors of the Member States are “complicated”, confided a diplomat. A first meeting on Friday ended without an agreement at midday. “The most important question is that of security of supply. It is existential for Hungary,” a landlocked country dependent on Russian deliveries, as significant technological investments are needed 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 this will take some time. This will continue over the weekend for technical, not political work,” confirmed another diplomat.
A longer waiver?
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. “There are discussions with the European Commission on 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 of refined products by the end of 2022. A one-year derogation until the end of 2023 is planned for Hungary and the Slovakia, but it was considered 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.