Ukraine war: Where does each EU country stand on cutting off Russian oil and gas?

Josep Borrell Karl Nehammer China Germany Italy Eu France Austria Hungary Belgium Russia Ukraine city Moscow county Alexander covid-19

18.04.2022 - 22:37

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euronews.com:

EU ministers have been discussing a potential sixth round of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, but an embargo on oil or gas to stop financing Putin's war machine continues to divide the bloc.

The European Union has paid €35 billion for Russian energy since the start of the war, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell has said. In 2021, the EU imported roughly 40% of its gas and 25% of its oil from Russia.

There are plans for a total ban on Russian coal imports but only from August and their value is far inferior to those of oil and gas.

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Russian oil and to set a deadline for ending gas imports from the country.

Within the bloc Germany, Italy, Austria and Hungary in particular are very dependent on Russian gas.

Seventeen EU countries have responded to an offer from the European Commission to provide technical expertise in helping them phase out their reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

Austria has ruled out sanctions on imports of oil and gas from Russia.

"If the sanctions hit yourself more than the other one, I think that is not the right way to go," Finance Minister Magnus Brunner said on 4 April.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who met Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 11, said he expects more EU sanctions against Russia, but he defended his country’s opposition to cutting off gas deliveries.

“As long as people are dying, every sanction is still insufficient,” he said.

Austria is militarily neutral and not a member of NATO.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has called for sanctions against Russia to be more severe to have an effect on the Kremlin.

He has highlighted the need for energy transformation and to end dependency on Russian