EU wrangles over details of Russia oil embargo

Package suggested last week by the European Commission would have seen most EU members halting oil imports from Russia by the end of the year

European diplomats were locked in difficult negotiations on the terms of the EU’s sixth round of sanctions against Russia on Sunday, with several members seeking guarantees for their oil supplies.

The package suggested last week by the European Commission would have seen most EU members halting oil imports from Russia by the end of the year, to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine.

But several member states, most vocally Hungary, demanded exemptions from the ban and support to help them escape their long-standing dependence on a single pipeline for Russian crude.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declared that the package as presented crossed a “red line” for Hungary, but diplomats in Brussels insist the technical negotiations are not blocked.

Ambassadors were to meet again on Sunday, but hopes that the package will be ready before Monday — on Russia’s Victory Day celebrations — were fading.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that if there is no agreement over the weekend he will call a meeting of Foreign Ministers next week.

“There is no political blockage, but the need to guarantee alternative sources of supply to landlocked countries dependent on Russian oil by pipeline. And it is not easy,” a European diplomat said.