Baltic countries urge EU to accelerate abandonment of Russian oil imports - FT
Kyiv • UNN
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have called on the European Commission to speed up the preparation of proposals for a complete abandonment of Russian oil. They believe that fears of an energy crisis following the situation around the Strait of Hormuz have not materialized.
The Baltic countries have called on the European Commission to present proposals as soon as possible for a complete abandonment of imports of Russian oil. In their opinion, fears of a possible energy crisis after the situation around the Strait of Hormuz did not materialize, and revenues from energy exports continue to finance Russia's war against Ukraine. This is reported by the Financial Times, according to UNN.
Details
According to the publication, during a meeting of EU energy ministers, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania urged Brussels to speed up the preparation of legislative proposals for a phased abandonment of Russian oil.
As FT notes, discussion of this issue was effectively suspended after the start of the war between Iran and Israel and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which raised fears of a possible energy shortage. However, after the gradual resumption of navigation and stabilization of the situation on the oil market, the Baltic countries believe that the EU should return to implementing these plans.
The publication recalls that the European Union has already significantly reduced its dependence on Russian oil. While at the beginning of 2022 its share in imports was 27%, by 2025 it had decreased to 2%, although this is still almost 9.7 million tons of raw materials.
At the same time, the implementation of new restrictions may face resistance from certain member states, primarily Hungary and Slovakia, which remain dependent on Russian oil. In addition, some countries fear a negative impact on energy prices.
Deputy Minister of Energy of Poland Wojciech Wrochna stated that Warsaw supports the fastest possible abandonment of Russian oil.
We believe this needs to be done by the end of the year. At the same time, we understand concerns about prices, supply availability, and competitiveness. But this is the price that must be paid to become independent from Russian resources
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen stated after the meeting that the situation in the Middle East makes the scenario of avoiding a shortage of aviation fuel and other petroleum products in Europe this summer more realistic.
At the same time, he noted that even under a favorable development of events, the return of the oil market to a normal state will take several months, and the gas market several years due to damage to infrastructure, particularly in Qatar.