Los Heads of State and Government of the European Union have achieved at the stroke of midnight a “political agreement” on the sixth round of sanctions against Russia, proposed almost a month ago by Brussels for the war in Ukraine and whose most controversial element has been the embargo on Russian oil. To circumvent the veto of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s plan, Viktor Orbany preserve unity of the Twenty-seven in front of the Kremlin, the European leaders have chosen to soften the embargo with a partial boycott of crude oil imported by sea -about two thirds of Russia’s imports- and that exempts for the time being oil that arrives by pipeline.
“Agreement to prohibit the export of Russian oil to the EU. This immediately covers more than two-thirds of Russia’s oil imports, cutting off a huge source of funding for its war machine. Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war,” announced the President of the European Council, Charles Michelon the approval of the sixth round of sanctions that also includes the exclusion of the swift payment information exchange system of Sberbank, the largest Russian financial institution, the ban on the emission in the EU of three Russian state broadcasters involved in the policy of disinformation from the Kremlin as well as the inclusion in the sanctioned list of more responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.
It was last May 4 when the European Comission proposed a total and gradual veto on oil and its derivatives coming from Russia, both by ship and by pipeline, with a one-year extension for Hungary and Slovakia, the two countries that feed on Russian crude through the Druzhba pipeline and that they do not have access to the sea. He then started a tug-of-war with Budapest that has not been resolved until tonight. Orbán not only demanded more money to adapt his infrastructures and refineries to oil from other countries, but also supply guarantees in case of problems. A pulse that has forced Brussels to gradually modulate and dilute his initial proposal to try to bring the agreement closer without breaking the unit of the twenty-seven.
Objective: political agreement
The negotiations have intensified in the last 48 hours to achieve the ‘white smoke’ at this summit. After a first failed attempt this Sunday, the permanent ambassadors of the Twenty-seven achieved this Monday morning a “principle of agreement”, as confirmed by diplomatic sources, What stay embodied in a draft conclusions that has been used for negotiation during the summit summit. According to this text, consulted by El Periódico, “the European Council agrees that the sixth package of sanctions against Russia will cover oil as well as oil derivatives that arrive from Russia to the Member States, with a temporary exception for oil supplied by pipeline” . The draft also urged governments to conclude “without delay” the agreement that guarantees a functioning single market, fair competition and solidarity between member states in the event of “a sudden interruption of supply”.
The idea behind this formula is to apply a embargo in two phases. In a first stage, the crude that arrives by sea would be blocked, which will make it possible to interrupt two thirds of Russian imports – a percentage that will increase to 93% by the end of the year if Germany and Poland apply their decision not to import Russian oil – and, in a second, imports by pipeline that account for a third and that for now will continue to flow although with the commitment to close the tap “as soon as possible”. Upon his arrival at the meeting, Orban warned that the offer on the table was insufficient, although he claimed to welcome the idea of excluding pipeline oil from the boycott.
Hungary demands more guarantees
“It is a good approach but we need guarantees that in the event of an accident with the oil pipeline that crosses Hungary we must have the right to obtain Russian oil by other means,” he warned, insisting that they are willing to support a sixth package of sanctions if they obtain “ solutions” to guarantee its energy supply. The Hungarian leader has also attacked the “irresponsible behavior” of the European Commission because the order of the agreement should be different: first solutions and then sanctions. “Until now, with the first five sanctions packages, we first adopted sanctions and then thought about the consequences and solutions. With energy it is risky and serious. First we need solutions and then sanctions”, he warned.
His words anticipated a complicated negotiation as it has ultimately been. “My expectations are low that it will be resolved in the next 48 hours. My appeal to all Member States is that the key to success is solidarity with Ukraine and the unity of the EU”, President Ursula von der Leyen claimed. “If every European country thinks only of itself, we will never move forward,” warned the Prime Minister of Latvia, Krisjanis Karins.
countries like Belgium, the Netherlands or Romania has also expressed concern about possible distortions in the internal market which could be created by the fact that Hungary continues to receive cheap oil from Russia while the rest feed on a more expensive hydrocarbon. “We understand the dependence of certain countries on Russian oil and that it takes time to rebuild refineries. The issue here is to keep the rules of the game balanced. But the great thing is that this can be solved,” said the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte.