“We are now proposing a ban on Russian oil. This will be a complete ban on imports of all Russian oil, transported by sea or by pipeline, crude and refined.” On Wednesday May 4, Ursula von der Leyen spoke clearly about the Commission’s intentions.
The evening summarizes the situation in its title: “The European Union begins its boycott of Russian oil”. The word “start” is not chosen at random, because the process will be long, and the “black gold disconnection” progressive Moscow, warns the Belgian daily.
Indeed, Brussels intends to definitively renounce crude oil imports in the next six months, and refined products (particularly fuels) before 2023. This respite will allow the EU “to set up other supply routes”, in order to reduce “minimum impact on global markets”, then clarified the German policy.
This decision recalls The evening, is anything but a surprise, since an embargo on Russian oil has already been decided by the United States, and the 27 EU Member States had already agreed on the principle of energy independence from Moscow during of the Versailles European summit on 10 and 11 March. Nevertheless, the details on the timetable to be followed remained to be clarified and, in reality, some things could still change, since the Commission’s proposal still needs to be validated by the Member States.
Be that as it may, the road traced by Ursula von der Leyen is clear and it will be traveled, even if it were to prove painful. “Let’s be clear, it won’t be easy, admitted von der Leyen, whose remarks are reported by Politico. Some member states are very dependent on Russian oil, but we just have to do it.”
Hungary and Slovakia had already made it known that they would not support sanctions from Brussels which would target Russian energy. After the Commission President’s announcement on 4 May, Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs said, in comments reported by Al-Jazeera, not knowing how his country could succeed in this transition.
“We want Ukraine to win this war”
The President of the Commission did not mince her words: “We want Ukraine to win this war”, she said, and the Russian oil embargo, with the consequences it will have on Moscow’s economy, goes in this direction. However, it remains to understand “if the EU moves fast enough to impact Putin’s war effort”, temperate, dubious, Politico.
An oil embargo with this deadline may indeed not have the desired impact on Moscow, even if it is only one of the measures announced by von der Leyen on Wednesday as part of the sixth sanctions package. taken by the EU since the start of the war.
Brussels should also exclude other major Russian banks from the Swift international payment system, but does not plan, for the moment, to deprive itself of gas from Moscow, the energy which is probably the real nerve of this economic war. by Brussels.