EU’s sanctions on Russia are ‘a joke’ says Ukrainian MP
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The European Commission had proposed a sanctions package earlier this month which included banning Russian oil imports to the bloc. But the move faced vocal opposition from states such as Hungary and Bulgaria, with significant dependence on Moscow’s exports for their oil supply.
Luxembourg’s foreign minister said there was “no excuse not to get the package done”, he conceded an agreement could be a while off yet.
But this comes as Austria’s foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, said he was “confident” the bloc could produce a fresh round of sanctions against Russia this week.
He stressed that he thought a public “image of discord” would negatively impact the EU’s position against Moscow.
He said on Monday: “I am confident that we will manage to get the sixth sanctions package done in the next days.”
He added: “It is clear that there still is a certain need for discussion but I believe we should aim to have these discussions where they belong, at the council, in order not give an image of disaccord in public.
“Russia is watching us.”
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, then said there was no guarantee of any quick agreement on sanctions as a small collection of countries continued to block progress on energy embargos.
Mr Borrell said the delegations will “do our best to de-block the situation”, but carried a distinctly pessimistic note on the timeline of such progress.
He added: “I cannot ensure that it is going to happen because positions are quite strong.”
The “strong opposition” has largely come from Budapest, with newly re-elected Viktor Orban’s government continuing to throw obstacles at a proposed oil embargo.
Other EU states had offered to give Hungary an extended deadline to phase out Russian crude until December 2024.
In a pointed comment leveled at Budapest, Lithuanian foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said on Monday: “The whole union is being held hostage by one member state.”
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He then added that “everybody expected” the offer of an extension “would be enough” to sway Orban into agreement.
The EU had proposed in the sixth package to freeze a number of prominent Vladimir Putin supporters, and restrict their travel through the bloc.
This would come alongside plans outlined by Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to place Russian oil under a bloc-wide embargo by the end of the year.
Ms von der Leyen said at the time she was aware “it will not be easy” for some countries to cut out Russian contributions.
She added: “Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil.
“But we simply have to work on it. We now propose a ban on Russian oil.
“This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined.
“We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimises the impact on global markets.”
But the proposals quickly ran into trouble with some member states, with Orban comparing the impact of the embargo to an atomic bomb hitting the Hungarian economy.
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