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Hungary was accused on Monday of holding its European neighbours hostage by opposing a ban on oil imports from Russia, as diplomats sought to unblock a political stalemate over the proposed embargo.
Germany said no breakthrough was expected at a meeting of the European Union’s 27 foreign ministers on Monday, almost two weeks since the bloc’s leaders proposed an embargo as part of a sixth sanctions package.
Although the EU has offered sceptical countries a grace period to phase out Russian oil they cannot immediately do without, Hungary has not backed down on its threat to veto the package altogether.
The impasse has stalled Europe’s progress in weakening a Russian energy sector which continues to collect money from EU countries and, as supporters of an embargo see it, provide funding for the invasion of Ukraine.
Lithuanian minister Gabrielius Landsbergis made an impassioned plea to diplomats to unite behind tougher measures against Russia, telling colleagues: “We will be remembered by the decisions we made."
“The whole union is being held hostage by one member state who cannot help us find a consensus,” said Mr Landsbergis, who said he would give this message directly to his Hungarian colleagues.
Some diplomats struck a more conciliatory tone and warned against airing frustrations in public. “We should be aware that Russia is watching us,” said Austrian representative Alexander Schallenberg.
Others spoke of finding a way through the stalemate after the European Commission offered some countries as long as two and a half years to free their power grids from reliance on Russia. An oil ban would cut off the Druzhba pipeline that runs through Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary
Also under discussion are ways to find alternative energy supplies for countries most reliant on Russia, which recently underlined its hold on Europe’s power grid by blocking gas imports to Poland and Bulgaria.
None of this has persuaded landlocked Hungary, which wants five years to revamp its energy system and for pipeline oil to be exempted from the ban altogether, leaving only maritime shipments covered by the embargo.
Hungary derives about 65 per cent of its oil from Russia, as well as 85 per cent of its gas. It allowed a ban on Russian coal to pass last month, but opposes oil and gas sanctions and has not provided military aid to Ukraine.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban, regarded as the Kremlin’s closest ally among the EU’s 27 leaders, has compared the impact of an oil embargo to an atomic bomb being dropped on Hungary’s economy. Lobbying by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron has not succeeded in changing his mind.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told public radio that prices would rise by more than 50 per cent and that Brussels had yet to put forward a proposal to compensate Hungary for this.
Hungary is not alone in fearing the economic consequences at a time when fuel prices are already high. However, other cautious countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been less outspoken in their public statements.
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A pro-Russian troop stands guard before the expected departure of Ukrainian soldiers, who surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel mill in the course of conflict in Mariupol. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier on reconnaissance in a recently retaken village on the outskirts of Kharkiv, east Ukraine. AP Photo -
The destroyed part of the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. AFP -
US President Joe Biden, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto walk through the White House rose garden after discussing the war, as well as potential Nato membership, in Washington. AP -
Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol are escorted by pro-Russian troops to Olenivka in the breakaway Donetsk region. Reuters -
Ukrainian National Guard soldiers train in the woods of the Transcarpathian region. Reuters -
A roof damaged during Russia's invasion of Ukraine is rebuilt in Moshchun village, near Kyiv. Reuters -
Ukrainian children play war games at a "checkpoint" they set up in Stoyanka, near Kyiv. AFP -
Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin, centre, on trial for war crimes in the Solomyansky district court in Kyiv, Ukraine. AFP -
A controlled detonation of explosive devices is conducted near Borodianka, Ukraine. Reuters -
A Russian serviceman adjusts the Soviet flag on a statue in Leninsky Komsomol Square in Mariupol, Ukraine. EPA -
A couple leave a metro station where they had been living after fleeing Russian shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Ukrainian forces leave the Azovstal steel works plant in Mariupol. AFP -
Russian militrary vehicles follow buses (not in picture) carrying Ukrainian troops being evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. EPA -
Members of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic forces carry water bottles as the evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers is carried out in Mariupo. EPA -
Ukrainian separatist troops and Russian soldiers, rear right, guard the buses with Ukrainian troops, in Mariupol. EPA -
A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic forces escorts a Ukrainian fighter being evacuated from the steel plant. EPA -
Russian militrary vehicles escort buses carrying Ukrainian troops from the Azovstal steel plant. EPA -
A total of 265 Ukrainian militants, including 51 seriously wounded, laid down arms and surrendered to Russian forces, the Russian Ministry of Defence said on May 17. EPA -
A Ukrainian soldier sits on a bus as troops are evacuated. EPA -
Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 21 ordered his defence minister to not storm but blockade the plant where a number of Ukrainian fighters were holding out. EPA -
Those in need of medical assistance were sent for treatment to a hospital in Novoazovsk, Russia said. EPA -
Some of the Ukrainian troops evacuated from the steel plant. AP -
A pro-Russian fighter stands guard next to a combat vehicle, before the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel mill,in Mariupol. Reuters -
Pro-Russian troops wait before the evacuation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal steel mill. Reuters -
A wounded Ukrainian soldier evacuated from Mariupol is carried on a stretcher out of a bus, after arriving in Novoazovsk. Reuters -
Buses carrying Ukrainian soldiers from the besieged Azovstal steel mill drive away under escort of the pro-Russian forces, in Mariupol. Reuters -
Pro-Russian troops stand guard on a road in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
Left to right, clockwise: Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Stanislav Zas, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), and Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko hold a meeting of CSTO leaders at the Kremlin in Moscow. AFP -
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell answer questions from the media as Republican senators John Barrasso, Susan Collins and John Cornyn and US new ambassador to Finland Douglas Hickey listen, after a meeting at the president's official residence in Helsinki. Reuters -
Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson speaks to the media before the parliamentary debate on Swedish Nato membership, in Stockholm. Reuters -
Firefighters work at a scene of a missile strike, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Zatoka, Odesa region. Reuters -
A closed McDonald's restaurant in Moscow. Reuters -
A Ukrainian soldier walks past a wrecked Russian armoured personnel carrier, near Kutuzivka, north of Kharkiv. AP -
A screengrab obtained from a video shows Ukrainian troops at the Ukraine-Russia border, in what was said to be the Kharkiv region. Reuters -
Water gushes from a pump station after Ukrainian troops opened a dam to flood a residential area in Demydiv, to stop the advance of Russian forces towards the capital Kyiv. Reuters -
Residental buildings damaged by shelling in Irpin, Kyiv region. EPA -
Activists line up to form a peace sign in front of the building that houses the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin. The event was organised by Greenpeace. AFP -
Officials stand together for a photo at an informal meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Berlin, with the focus on the potential membership of Finland and Sweden. Getty Images -
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin (L) and President Sauli Niinisto hold a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, where they announced the country's intentions to apply for Nato membership. AP -
An Ukrainian girl with the national flag painted on her face attends a cultural event in support of the besieged country in a metro station in Dnipro, Ukraine. Reuters -
Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine are named the winners of the 66th Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy. Getty Images -
Members of the Ukrainian military celebrate Kalush Orchestra winning the Eurovision Song Contest, at their position in the Kyiv region. Reuters -
Refugees from Mariupol region arrive at a registration and humanitarian aid centre for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters -
A damaged street on the outskirts of Kharkiv. EPA -
A damaged residential building on the outskirts of Kharkiv. EPA -
Debris hangs from a regional government building in Mykolaiv, which was heavily damaged in a Russian attack. AP -
Former students play table tennis in the playground of a destroyed school in Kharkiv. Reuters
EU sanctions need unanimity to pass and talks between the 27 ambassadors in Brussels have yet to find a consensus. Countries can receive exemptions if other member states are willing to go along with them.
Ukraine, which wants the EU to move into the trickier territory of banning Russian gas, has said there should be no exemptions to an embargo.
Aside from phasing out oil imports, the proposed sixth package would penalise high-ranking Russian military officers, silence pro-Kremlin propaganda channels, and cut off more banks from payments system Swift.
“There are clearly still a few questions that need to be answered,” said German minister Annalena Baerbock, who said any sanctions needed to be designed so that they could be kept in place for years if necessary.
“We won’t get a final answer here today, but we will come to a common conclusion in the next few days, I’m very confident of that.”
Such predictions have proved optimistic in the past but Josep Borrell, the EU’s top foreign policy official, said he was striving to “deblock the situation” and find a common position.
“In Europe, we are incredibly good at showing ourselves to be disunited,” Mr Schallenberg said. “In this situation, we need to keep appearing united.”
