Because of Hungary's position, EU suggests banning Russian oil imports only by sea - Bloomberg
According to Bloomberg's sources, the leaders of some European Union countries are tending to a partial embargo on Russian oil because of Hungary's position. They propose to ban imports by sea and only limit deliveries via pipelines.
This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to Hromadske.
It is noted that the EU governments are discussing with the European Council and the European Commission a plan under which oil supplies through the pipeline " Druzhba" will be exempt from the ban on transportation for a certain period. The point is that such a compromise will give Hungary time to adapt to the conditions of Russian oil supplies cessation.
The newspaper notes that last year Russia used to ship about 720,000 barrels of oil per day through the "Druzhba" pipeline. For comparison, 1.57 million barrels per day were transported via the sea route.
Nevertheless, this plan does not have unanimous support. Some countries have previously opposed splitting the ban on oil shipments by sea and through pipelines. These governments fear that it would disproportionately affect the supply of this energy resource - and who would be affected more by the restrictions.
The Hungarian government argues that an oil embargo would cause too much damage to the country's economy. At the same time, the EU proposed that Hungary and Slovakia impose such sanctions until the end of 2024, and the Czech Republic - until June of the same year, because they are heavily dependent on Russian oil.
But Hungary said it would support the embargo only if it concerned offshore oil supplies.
