Michel’s understanding was reached at the end of the first day of an extraordinary summit of EU leaders in Brussels, and allows for the removal of an extremely sensitive issue that had exposed cracks between EU countries.
The sixth package of sanctions proposed by the EU against Russia, for the war in Ukraine, included the idea of a total embargo on Russian oil, but that initiative crashed with opposition from Hungary, which fears for its energy security.
The solution found by the negotiators was to adopt an embargo that will initially affect imports of Russian oil that reach the EU by sea, excluding deliveries by pipeline for now.
Meanwhile, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that Germany and Poland agreed for their part that until the end of the year they will renounce continuing to receive Russian oil through pipelines, and with this the embargo would end up affecting “90% ” of crude oil imports from Russia into the EU.
In addition to the controversial oil embargo, the EU’s sixth plan of measures against Russia includes the withdrawal of more Russian banks from the Swift interbank network and the inclusion of new names on the list of sanctioned Russian officials.
Separately, the EU agreed to send Ukraine 9 billion euros ($9.63 billion) to support its economy amid the Russian invasion.
The Council “will continue to help Ukraine with its immediate liquidity needs,” Michel tweeted during the summit, noting “firm and concrete support for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
Source: Ambito
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