BRUSSELS — European Union leaders have reached a historic political agreement to ban the vast majority of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, a move deemed impossible in the early stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because of the block’s high dependence on the fuel.
Negotiators are yet to work out the technical details of the agreement in the coming days, but EU leaders said they had agreed to ban Russian oil from entering the bloc by sea by the end of the year, affecting two-thirds of the total EU. would be cut off. imports.
Hungary and its prime minister, Viktor Orban, an occasional ally of Mr Putin, had blocked the measure. To gain Hungary’s approval, European leaders agreed to allow pipeline imports.
Five European countries import Russian oil through pipelines. Germany and Poland agreed to end all Russian imports, including pipeline imports, by the end of the year, but Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have made no such commitment. The three countries are heavily dependent on Russian oil imports, but Slovakia and the Czech Republic have already indicated that they are working to get their supply from Russia.
As part of the agreement, Hungary was also given assurances that should the pipeline supplying Russian oil, which runs through Ukraine, be hit, the country will be allowed to import oil without being accused of violating sanctions.
Even with exceptions to appease Hungary, a small country that accounts for a small portion of the Russian oil imported by the bloc, the measure will cost the Kremlin billions of dollars a year in revenue while strategically decoupling Europe from Russia in a sustainable way. . It is also likely to hit Europe hard, as households and businesses are already doing it faced with steeper energy prices.