European summit agreement on the Russian oil embargo

Night agreement at the European summit on the Russian oil embargo. The leaders of the 27, at the end of long negotiations and several times likened to drowning, were able to save the unity of the Old Continent in the face of the enemy of Moscow with a ploy that would please Viktor Orban and provide sufficient guarantees for the landlocked states. The agreement provides for an immediate ban on the arrival of oil from Russia to the European Union by sea, while postponing the suspension of crude oil transported through the Druzhba pipeline. The Sherpas will have to analyze this last point “as soon as possible”, as stated in the text of the conclusions.

It won’t be easy, but the way seems to be drawn now. To break the recent resistance of Hungary and its neighbors was the inclusion in the conclusions not only of the exemption for oil that reaches the EU via pipelines but also in a footnote under which Brussels pledges to take “emergency measures” in the event of a disruption of energy supplies by Moscow. In fact, Budapest, as well as Prague and Bratislava, obtained in writing that in the event of retaliation by the Kremlin, other member states would help them. The exemption period for pipeline oil will be discussed in the coming days but is not expected to be short.

Orban had arrived in Brussels ready for the trenches and attacked the commission head-on: “If we find ourselves in this difficult situation, it is because he has acted irresponsibly.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, via video call, urged his European colleagues to “not divide” and agree to sanctions “quickly”. Of course, the (extraordinary) council did not meet specifically to resolve the impasse over crude oil, quite the contrary. The agenda includes a close discussion on key issues such as RePowerEu and the EU’s plan to free itself from Russian hydrocarbons while at the same time setting the path towards energy independence thanks to renewables. The basic design, of course, is unconditional support for Ukraine, both from a financial point of view (an agreement on aid worth 9 billion was also found) and from a political-military point of view. “War is a war, Vladimir Putin is destroying Donbass, and Ukraine still needs weapons,” said High Representative Josep Borrell frankly. In fact, there was no mention of a truce in the outcome of the summit. However, attention was drawn to the tug of war over the oil embargo. Emmanuel Macron saw Urban at a lunch to try out the latest mediation. The strongman from Budapest had stressed that the exemption from imports via the pipeline – which also affects Slovakia and the Czech Republic – is a “good idea” but that “additional guarantees” are needed on the possibility of buying Russian crude in the event of “accidents”. To the Druzhba (meaning “friendship”) channel.

In the end, Budapest – as well as the Czech Republic, which had asked for written guarantees and would be the next president of the European semester – were satisfied. A branch of the pipeline runs through Poland and Germany, and both Warsaw and Berlin have said they are ready to forego their share when the trap is run at the end of the year. If you add it all up, this will still be more than 90% of imported crude oil from Russia. “The board – reading the final drafts – will return to discuss these exceptions as soon as possible.” Here is the second installment. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who lobbied the deal more than any other leader, by introducing a European and a European into the European sitting room, said at the summit’s opening that she was unusually skeptical about the agreement. abnormality. But it is undeniable that it was she who emerged at least partially defeated by this test of strength. “Energy is very important, first solutions are found with member states and then sanctions are applied, not the other way around as has been the case so far,” Orban said. “The sixth package includes the exclusion of Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank from Swift, the restrictions on three issuers in Moscow and the inclusion of several entities and personalities in the EU blacklist. The list of leaders also includes more. A plan to strengthen joint defense, starting with the European industrial base, options Possible to unban Ukrainian wheat.However, the danger is that the European Union, during the fight over oil, will find itself caught on gas.Because Gazprom has announced that it will cut supplies to Dutch GasTerra from tomorrow, because it does not pay in rubles, and may find Denmark, again, tomorrow itself is in the same situation.