After hours of negotiations today and weeks of lengthy processes, European leaders today came up with a formula for an embargo on Russian oil.
The agreement was announced by the European Council President Charles Michel in a twitter.
Agreement to ban export of Russian oil to the EU.
This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine.
Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war.
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) May 30, 2022
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The package of sanctions includes other tough measures, such as the removal from the swift of the largest Russian bank Sberbank, the banning of 3 other Russian state radio and television stations and the imposition of sanctions on those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine.
The biggest objections to the embargo on Russian oil were expressed by Hungary, which insisted until today’s summit on a hard line.
In most cases, 90% of oil imports will be eliminated by the end of this year. The agreement concerns the embargo, starting at the end of the year, on the transport of oil and petroleum products by sea.
Land pipelines are excluded, which covers Hungary. Other countries that have pipelines, such as Germany or the Czech Republic, have stated that they will participate in the immediate implementation of sanctions.
This results in a 90% reduction in oil imports.