MOSCOW, May 6. /TASS/. The European Union countries have been unable to agree on the sixth package of anti-Russia sanctions announced by the European Commission (EC) for several days already. Despite exemptions for certain states offered by the EC, the terms of the oil embargo have not been greenlighted, with Bloomberg agency expecting the discussion to last until May 9.
The policies offered by EC President Ursula von der Leyen suggest phasing out Russian oil by EU nations, halting the supplies of oil within half a year and of petroleum products - in 2023. Moreover, the European Union intends to cut Sberbank off from the global payment system SWIFT and to ban three Russian state-owned broadcasters.
When announcing new sanctions, the European Commission noted it was ready to provide exemptions to Slovakia (Russian oil accounts for 78.4% of its total imports) and Hungary (44.6%). Those countries will be able to purchase fuel under present contracts by the end of 2023. Bulgaria (8%) and the Czech Republic (29.1%), through which large transit volumes flow, are seeking similar waivers.
Though Slovakia and another fuel redistributing country Austria (5.8%) have recalled their veto against the oil embargo, Bratislava called the one-year term for the transition period too short, whereas state secretary at the Slovak economy ministry Karol Galek warned of the prospects of the European economy being destroyed. Budapest said it was ready to support the embargo unless it affected supplies through pipelines though, with oil reaching Europe particularly via them. The land-locked Hungary does not oppose the ban on oil delivery by tankers.
Meanwhile, such coastal countries as Greece, Cyprus and Malta have questions to the embargo, according to Bloomberg sources. They are concerned about their trade fleet, which will forfeit contracts on transportation of Russian oil as early as in June, being confident that contracts will simply go to non-EU companies, which will push Europe’s competitiveness down.
Nevertheless, other EU member states are dissatisfied not with the package of sanctions itself, but with its exemptions and even mildness. Luxemburg was outraged by the fact that the unified position on applying sanctions was vague in the decision on restrictions. Germany is demanding the tightening of sanctions, particularly in the banking sector - up to freezing Sberbank assets and banning transactions. Berlin is putting pressure on EU candidate members, as the German foreign ministry expressed strong hope during the visit of Serbian President Alexander Vucic to Germany that the future states of the integration would join sanctions.
Moreover, Germany that is gradually abandoning the use of nuclear power plants, is calling for a harder line in the issue of nuclear cooperation with the Russian Federation. The decision may hit the neighboring France the hardest, as Paris continues actively developing this field. The country also realizes the danger of embargoing petroleum products, as Russia is the main supplier to France of diesel, whose share in this fuel’s daily consumption reaches 70%.
Confirming previous statements, Hungary called energy restrictions unacceptable. Prime Minister of the country Viktor Orban submitted a letter to the European Commission on Thursday, thus moving Hungary’s position from rhetoric to documented.
Budapest believes the society is not ready to put the policies offered by the EC into action, consequently, it will only be reasonable to discuss them when all countries are ready. However, in this case "time and investment that are excessive" will be required as well, he noted, adding that the introduction of such sanctions "cannot be financed on a market basis." Earlier, Budapest estimated the possibility of shifting to other feedstock at several million dollars.
Hungarian Prime Minister criticized Brussels’ stubborn desire to embargo oil, saying that particularly the European Commission would eventually "bear full responsibility for a historical failure in the court of European integration."
On the same day, Orban held an emergency meeting of the Hungarian government, to which heads of the largest energy companies MOL and MVM were invited. PM emphasized that the country’s energy supply was stable now, while the participants of the meeting agreed that joining the European sanctions would only ruin the Hungarian economy.
Prime Minister Orban confirmed the country’s stance again on Friday, stressing that he "made it clear from the very beginning that there is a red line: the energy sector."