As leaked earlier on Monday morning, European Union leaders[/B] agreed in principle to cut 90 percent of oil imports from Russia by the end of this year, resolving an impasse with Hungary over the bloc's toughest sanctions on Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine three months ago.
As Reuters reports, diplomats say the agreement will pave the way for the other measures[/B] in the sixth package of EU sanctions[/B] on Russia, including the cutting off of Russia's largest bank, Sberban, from the SWIFT messaging system, to take effect.
"Agreement to ban Russian oil exports to the EU," European Council President Charles Michel tweeted at the end of the first day of the two-day summit of the bloc's 27 leaders.
"This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, reducing a huge source of funding for its war machine. Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war," he stressed."
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Excluding pipelines
Two-thirds of Russian oil imported from the EU comes via tankers and one-third via the Druzhba pipeline. Therefore, the embargo on oil imports by sea will apply to 2/3 of all oil imported from Russia.
[BR][BR]The embargo will cover 90% of all imports from Russia if Poland and Germany, which are also linked to the pipeline, stop buying it by the end of the year.
The remaining 10% will be temporarily exempted from the embargo so that Hungary, which opposed the deal, along with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which are all connected to the southern leg of the pipeline, can have access.
Assurances to Hungary
Budapest also appeared to have won assurances from other leaders that emergency measures would apply "in the event of a sudden disruption of supply" after Prime Minister Viktor Orban raised concerns about risks to the Russian oil pipeline running through Ukraine to Hungary.
However, it was not immediately clear how member states receiving oil from tankers would be compensated for the higher costs compared to those keeping the pipelines open.
Zelensky's barbs
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking via video to EU leaders, accused them of being too soft on Moscow.
"Why do you depend on Russia, on their pressure, and not the other way around? Russia must depend on you. Why is Russia still earning almost a billion euros a day selling energy?" said Zelensky.
The EU has imposed five rounds of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, showing unprecedented speed and unity given the complexity of the measures.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said as he left the talks in Brussels that he was surprised by the turn of events.
"At the beginning of the evening I was not optimistic at all, but at about 23:00, it was done," he said, adding that the technical details that have yet to be resolved should not be difficult.
Support package
The summit also reached agreement on an EU loan package worth 9 billion euros, with a small grant component to cover part of the interest, for Ukraine to maintain its government and pay salaries for about two months.
The leaders also supported the creation of an international fund to rebuild Ukraine after the war, with details to be decided later.
Today's agenda
Today Tuesday the leaders will pledge to speed up work to help Ukraine move its grain out of the country to global buyers by rail and trucks because the Russian navy is blocking the usual sea routes and to take steps to become more quickly independent of Russian energy.
Source: in.gr
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