The European Union Split! Hungary refuses to support Russia’s new sanctions

BUDAPEST – Hungary can’t support new sanction pack European Union (EU) for Russia , which includes an embargo on oil imports, in its current form. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said this.

Orban said the European Commission’s current proposal to ban imports of Russian oil would amount to an “atomic bomb” dropped on the Hungarian economy. He added that Hungary was ready to negotiate if it saw a new proposal that would meet Hungarian interests.

The European Union executive last Wednesday proposed the toughest package of sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine, but some countries are concerned about the impact of cutting Russian oil imports in the way of a deal.

A number of eastern EU countries fear the shutdown will not give them enough time to adapt, although diplomats say Hungary and Slovakia will be given until the end of 2023.

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Orban told state radio it would take Hungary five years and heavy investments in its refineries and pipelines to be able to transform its current system which relies about 65% on Russian oil.

“We know exactly what we need, first of all we need 5 years for this whole process to be completed. 1-1.5 years is not enough for anything,” Orban was quoted as saying. ReutersFriday (6/5/2022).

He added that Hungary would also need large investments in refineries and shipping systems to allow imports of non-Russian oil.

Orban questions whether it is wise to invest at that scale for returns within 4 to 5 years, while the war in Ukraine is going on right now.

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