European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on the European Union’s 27 member states to ban the import of Russian oil as part of the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow following Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
“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 minimizes the impact on global markets.”
By doing so, the EU would maximize pressure on Russia while minimizing collateral damage, she noted.
The proposal must get unanimous approval before going into effect and will potentially trigger a fierce debate over the issue, as not all countries in the bloc are equally dependent on Russian oil.
About 25 percent of the EU’s oil comes from Russia, with Moscow also supplying 14 percent of the bloc’s diesel. A poorly managed blockade on Russian imports could prove to be very expensive, leading to a hike in fuel prices amid already-high inflation.
Countries such as Slovakia and Hungary have made it clear that they won’t take part in any EU sanctions against Russian oil imports. In 2021, Hungary received 58 percent of its crude oil and oil product imports from Russia. For Slovakia, it was 96 percent.
Some members of the European Parliament stepped up calls to target Russian natural gas imports as well. However, banning gas could prove to be a bigger challenge since the EU region gets about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia.
“That’s great news that we are moving on the oil embargo,” Luis Garicano, a Spanish member of the EU assembly, said after von der Leyen’s announcement. “But as you know, this is far short of what this parliament wants. We actually asked a month ago for a full embargo on gas and oil.”
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