Hopes for EU ban on Russian oil despite Hungary comparing plan to ‘nuclear bomb’
France has said a deal on a proposed EU ban on Russian oil could be struck this week, despite opposition from the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who has compared the plans to an atomic bomb.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, held a phone call with Orbán in an effort to break the deadlock over the latest round of EU sanctions, the sixth since the eve of the invasion. There were “contacts at all levels to ensure we have a global deal on this sixth package”, a spokesperson at the Élysée Palace said after the call. Clément Beaune, a Macron ally and France’s Europe minister, said he thought “we could strike a deal this week”.
Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen said there had been progress after making a last-minute dash to Budapest to discuss the plans with Orbán on Monday night.
The European Commission president described the discussion as “helpful to clarify issues related to sanctions and energy security”. “We made progress, but further work is needed,” she added, promising to hold a video conference with other countries in the region to boost cooperation on oil infrastructure.
EU diplomats insist all 27 member states are united behind the idea of a ban on Russian oil, with sources close to the talks describing the delay as technical rather than political.
However, the EU had hoped to announce the oil embargo and a new set of sanctions on influential Russians before last weekend, following Von der Leyen’s presentation of the plans at the European parliament last Wednesday.
About a quarter of the EU’s oil comes from Russia, but some countries use far more. Slovakia and Hungary, landlocked countries that are nearly 100%-dependent on Russian oil, have been offered a delay in imposing the oil embargo until the end of
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