EU edges towards oil sanctions on Russia, no deal yet

BRUSSELS – European Union governments moved nearer on Sunday to agreeing powerful sanctions in opposition to Russia that embrace a ban on shopping for Russian oil, however scheduled extra talks for Monday to work out how to make sure international locations most depending on Russian power can cope.

Ambassadors of the 27 EU international locations have been assembly day by day to debate particulars of the sixth sanctions package deal concentrating on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine because the European Fee introduced proposals for it on Might 4.

“The Council (of EU governments) is united on the necessity to undertake a sixth sanctions package deal,” the French presidency of the EU and the Fee mentioned in an announcement. “Very important progress has been made on many of the measures.”

The sticking level is the way to safe oil provides to landlocked Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which all rely closely on Russian crude delivered by way of Soviet-era pipelines and face a problem to safe various sources.

“We nonetheless have work to finalize, in a spirit of solidarity, the ensures that are mandatory for the oil provide situations of the Member States which at the moment discover themselves in a really particular state of affairs with regard to provide by pipeline from Russia,” the joint assertion mentioned.

To get all EU members on board, the Fee proposed modifications on Friday to its deliberate embargo on Russian oil to offer the three international locations extra time to shift their power provides, EU sources mentioned.

Beneath the preliminary plan, all EU international locations would cease shopping for Russian crude inside six months and Russian refined merchandise by the tip of the yr.

The tweaked proposal would give Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic assist to improve their refineries to course of oil from elsewhere and delay their exit from Russian oil to 2024.

There would even be a three-month transition earlier than banning EU delivery companies from transporting Russian oil, as a substitute of 1 month as initially proposed, to deal with considerations raised by Greece, Malta and Cyprus about their delivery corporations, one of many sources added.