The European Commission no longer intends to present a legal proposal for a complete ban on Russian oil imports due to Russia's war against Ukraine on April 15, as previously planned, according to an updated EU legislative agenda published on Tuesday, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
However, an EU official told Reuters that the proposal had not been canceled and would still be published, though not by mid-April due to "ongoing geopolitical developments."
According to the International Energy Agency, the US-Israel war against Iran is creating the largest oil supply disruption in history, leading to a sharp rise in global oil prices.
War with Iran became the biggest threat to energy in history - IEA20.03.26, 20:10
The proposal envisages the legislative consolidation of a complete phased abandonment of Russian oil imports no later than the end of 2027. The European Union has already legislated a phased cessation of gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027.
This measure will affect physical supplies, as by the last quarter of 2025, the EU imports only 1% of its oil from Russia, having sharply reduced imports after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the publication notes.
However, Brussels wants to enshrine a complete cessation of Russian oil imports in legislation that will remain in force even if a peace agreement on the war in Ukraine eventually leads to the lifting of EU sanctions, the publication notes.
EU sanctions on Russian oil supplies by sea, the publication notes, have already eliminated most of the bloc's imports.
Hungary and Slovakia were the only two EU countries that continued to import Russian oil until January 27, when Ukraine said that a Russian drone strike on pipeline equipment in Ukraine disrupted Russian oil supplies. Budapest and Bratislava accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the resumption of oil supplies, which caused a political dispute that led Hungary to block an EU loan for Ukraine.
"The initial date of April 15 would mean that the EU proposal would be presented three days after the parliamentary elections in Hungary," the publication states. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who maintains friendly relations with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine, strongly opposes any ban.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this month that a return to Russian energy would be a "strategic mistake" and would make Europe more vulnerable.
Von der Leyen called returning to Russian fuel a "strategic mistake"11.03.26, 12:35