Bulgaria and the Czech Republic are trying to get out of the oil embargo against the Russian Federation – media

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Officials of some EU countries are trying to abandon the oil embargo against Russia. About it reported agency AFP referring to European diplomats in Brussels.

During the diplomatic talks, the representatives of Bulgaria and the Czech Republic stated that they could seek the abandonment of this measure. One European diplomat warned that granting exemptions to one or two heavily dependent states would cause a domino effect.

According to media reports, the European Commission has completed preparation of the sixth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which provides for a gradual cessation of oil purchases in the Russian Federation for 6-8 months. An exception is planned to be made for Hungary and Slovakia, which will be able to continue purchases until 2023, since the countries are completely dependent on the Russian resource.

The European Commission does not plan to unveil a new package against Russia until its President Ursula von der Leyen speaks to the European Parliament on May 4, writes AFP.

Diplomats fear that many countries will demand to be released from the embargo and the EU will not come to an agreement. Slovakia and Hungary receive oil through the Druzhba major oil pipeline. It will take several years to completely rebuild it to import oil from other countries, officials noted.

Recall that on May 2, Germany announced its readiness immediately support the oil embargo against the Russian Federation. The country’s authorities are already asking consumers in European countries to be prepared for higher energy prices.

Thanks to the position of Germany, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia were able to withdraw veto on Russian oil embargo. Poland also declared its readiness to help Germany abandon through the use of capacities of the oil refinery in Gdansk.

Eurostat has previously calculated that Moscow gets more revenue from oil sales than gas. In 2021, the EU countries imported crude oil and oil products from the Russian Federation in the amount of 71 billion euros, and purchased gas for only 18 billion euros.

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