Bloomberg: European Commission proposes to remove Druzhba oil pipeline from sixth package of sanctions

The European Commission has sent to the EU governments a revised proposal for the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. It is proposed to exclude the Druzhba oil pipeline from the draft embargo ( due to Hungaryʼs position ) and to ban the sea transportation of oil from Russia.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Druzhba is the worldʼs largest oil pipeline, built to transport oil from Russia to Central and Western Europe. The pipeline route runs from Russia to Belarus, where it branches into two branches: the northern one (Belarus, Poland and Germany) and the southern one (Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary). Hungary has put forward a condition on which it will support the sixth package of sanctions: it has proposed releasing the Druzhba pipeline from restrictions, as well as giving it extra time to find a technical solution that meets the countryʼs energy needs. It will also solve the problems of other landlocked countries, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The European Commission sent this revised proposal to national governments on Saturday, May 28. In addition, according to the revised project, Bulgaria will receive a transition period until June or December 2024, and Croatia may receive an exemption for imports of vacuum gas oil (one of the petroleum products). The Commission also proposed to limit the re-export of Russian oil supplied through the pipeline to other Member States or third countries.

As for the ban on the transport of Russian oil by sea, the member states will gradually stop such imports of oil in six months, and oil products — in eight months.

EU ambassadors are due to meet on Sunday, May 29, to discuss the revised package. The sanctions package needs the support of all Member States. Several countries have previously opposed the difference between maritime and pipeline supplies, fearing that such a division would be unfair because it would disproportionately affect their supplies.