Austria, Slovakia and Hungary have decided to withdraw their veto on an embargo on Russian oil purchases following a change in Germanyʼs position.
This was reported by ZDF.
According to sources, now no EU country is blocking the fundamental decision to abandon Russian oil — it remains only to agree on the details of the embargo. The publication believes that the ban will be adopted in the coming days, but it will take effect, probably within months.
On May 2, German Economy Minister Christian Lindner reaffirmed his intention to abandon Russian oil. According to him, the country has reached a state that will allow coping with the oil embargo and even more — will be able to cope with the fact that the embargo will be imposed immediately. However, he stressed that such a decision would have consequences, and fuel prices are likely to rise. But by the end of the year, Germany will be able to eliminate these consequences.
This was also publicly confirmed in Austria. Minister of Energy Leonora Gevssler has said her country is not opposed to an embargo on Russian oil purchases and would support such sanctions if the European Commission and other EU member states are willing to do so.
However, on Monday, Reuters reported that the European Union plans to release Hungary and Slovakia from future restrictions on the purchase of Russian oil. The problem is that these two countries are very dependent on Russian oil, and Hungary has promised to veto such a decision. Therefore, the European Commission wants to create an exception for them or significantly extend the transition period.