EU Leaders Agree on Partial Ban of Russian Oil... Pipeline Sanctions Fail

Pipeline Exempted from Sanctions Amid Opposition from Hungary and Others
Controversy Over Complete Embargo Expected to Continue

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The European Union (EU) announced that it has agreed on a partial embargo on Russian oil. While sanctions on oil transported by sea have been agreed upon, sanctions on oil pipelines, which faced opposition mainly from Hungary, ultimately failed, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the sanctions.

According to Euronews on the 30th (local time), at the EU summit held in Brussels, Belgium, member states agreed to impose a comprehensive embargo on Russian oil transported by sea. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, tweeted immediately after the summit, "This agreement will allow us to ban two-thirds of Russian crude oil imports," adding, "It will restrict the huge financial resources Russia uses to fund its weapons."

However, oil imports via pipelines from Russia to Europe, opposed by Eastern European countries led by Hungary, were excluded from the sanctions. The EU emphasized that over 70% of Russian oil is transported to ports, but the initial goal of a complete embargo was not achieved.

From the beginning of the meeting, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb?n strongly opposed a complete embargo on Russian oil, citing Hungary's dependence on Russian energy. Consequently, oil imports through the Druzhba pipeline, a major route for Russian oil imports to Hungary, as well as other pipelines from Russia to Europe, were excluded from the sanctions.

As a result, debates over the effectiveness of the 6th round of sanctions against Russia are expected to intensify. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, indicated the possibility of expanding the embargo in the future by tweeting, "By the end of the year, we will reduce about 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU."