European Union Agrees Embargo 90 Per Cent of Russian Oil This Year

The European Union has come to a compromise that will place an embargo on two thirds of Russian oil immediately with the aims of reducing imports from Moscow by 90 per cent by the end of the year in the sixth round of sanctions set to be imposed by the bloc since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.

Following tense negotiations with Eastern European nations such as Hungary, the EU agreed to limit the scope of its embargo to oil transported by sea, meaning that pipeline shipments of oil will be allowed to continue to countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia.

European Council President Charles Michel hailed the compromise as an example of “unity” within the bloc, claiming that the deal will immediately impact two thirds of oil imports from Russia, which he said will serve to cut a “huge source of financing for its war machine” and will place the “maximum pressure on Russia to end the war.”

The Belgian eurocrat said that the bloc will continue to reduce its dependence on Russian oil, claiming that by the end of the year 90 per cent of Russian oil will be banned from the EU, with pipeline exemptions once again being carved out for the aforementioned Eastern European nations. Germany and Poland, however, have committed to cutting off pipeline imports from Russia by the end of the year.- READ MORE