EU seeks political deal to veto Russian oil with an exception for Orbán

European Union leaders will try to reach a "political" agreement on Monday to sanction oil coming into the bloc from Russia, but including an exception for crude received by Hungary led by Viktor Orbán, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. 

This is one of the objectives of the summit of EU heads of state and government, according to EU sources, who specify that the embargo on crude oil arriving by sea would mean vetoing "more than two thirds" of the total and represents an "important achievement" for the European club, after weeks of negotiations to overcome the reluctance of Budapest, mainly, but also of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. 

In fact, the political pact that leaders will try to reach at the summit would include a series of "temporary exceptions" to "guarantee security of supply" for member states that depend on oil imports by pipeline. 

Talks between member states continued over the weekend in the European capital with meetings at the level of member state ambassadors, who also met on Monday hours before leaders began arriving in Brussels. 

These prior contacts have allowed the agreement to reach the leaders' table "fairly stabilised" and with "clear unity" among the capitals of the club, according to EU sources, who even believe that "everything is more or less settled" and that the complete pact, with all the details, will arrive "this week". 

The proposal is to distinguish between a two-stage ban. The first would be a total ban on seaborne oil imports that would come into force as early as the end of this year and would cover more than two-thirds of Russian crude oil. 

It would contain an exception for oil arriving via the Druhba pipeline, the world's longest pipeline transporting crude to Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany, which would be left open-ended for a second phase. 

An agreement on the Russian oil embargo would unlock the EU's sixth package of sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine, which also includes the disconnection of Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, from the Swift messaging system. 

It also expands the list of sanctioned individuals to add the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, and Colonel Azatbet Omurbekov, known as the 'Butcher of Bucha', among others.