EU Countries Lack Consensus on Issue of Cutting off Russian Oil, Reports Say

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Last week, the European Union announced its fifth package of sanctions against Russia for its military operation in Ukraine. The restrictions include a total ban on the purchase, import or transfer of coal and other solid fossil fuels to the EU if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia, starting from August 2022.

EU member states have not agreed on a unified approach to the issue of a potential immediate blockade on Russian oil imports and will not discuss this topic at the foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, The Financial Times reports.

The potential measure could be raised informally for broad discussion, but EU politicians are exercising caution amid rising energy prices, the newspaper said on Sunday, citing EU officials.

One official said that cutting off Russian oil was "a technically and politically complicated matter" for some countries with high dependency.

According to The Financial Times, apart from Hungary, there are other EU member states that are resisting the idea of an oil embargo.

The European Union could consider imposing tariffs on Russian oil, instead of a straight ban, officials told the newspaper.

In March, energy prices in the EU were up 45 percent from a year earlier. In 2021, Russia's imports to the EU amounted to about 45% of gas, 27% of crude oil and 46% of coal, according to the European Commission.

On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response, the EU rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media and financial institutions.