Hungary and Slovakia deny the Oil Ban against Russia

Brussels/Moscow – Slovakians and Hungary, members of the European Union (EU) have refused to accept the proposed sanctions by the EU on oil from Russia. Slovakia has demanded a timeline of minimum three years to shift to an alternative for Russian fuel. In contrast, Hungary has refused the oil embargo stating that it is not in the interest of its energy security. The proposal of the EU to sanction Russian energy could face challenges.

The European Union imports more than 3.5 million barrels of oil and other petroleum products from Russia every day. This includes the diesel needed for the European trucks. The European Union pays about 450 million Euros per day for the energy supply. The United States, Great Britain, some European countries, and Ukraine are claiming that Russia is using these funds in their offensive military operation against Ukraine. Therefore, the European Union has proposed banning oil imports from Russia. But the proposal is facing opposition from Hungary and Slovakia. As per the data for the year 2020, Slovakia imports 11,000 barrels of crude oil from Russia per day, whereas Hungary imports 76,700 barrels of crude oil from Russia. Russia supplies crude oil to both countries through the Druzhba pipeline.

Slovakia has notified that they would need a minimum period of three years to shift to an alternative to the Russian fuels. Slovakia demanded exemption from the embargo, as it would not be possible to stop energy imports from Russia in the stipulated timeline proposed by the EU. The resistance shown by Slovakia, despite being in support of Ukraine, is noteworthy.

The Hungarian government has refused to accept the EU’s proposal as it is not in the interest of their energy security.