Countries such as Hungary and Austria have declared that the Russian oil embargo is a red line for them, and they cannot accept or abide by such a decision.
Observers and experts believe that it is almost impossible to reach a European agreement to start imposing the embargo, even partially, on Russian oil, as such a decision would have catastrophic repercussions on the economies of the eurozone, raising more and more inflation rates, high prices and the scarcity of fuel in their countries, which may be reflected on the The form of political and social unrest within it.
They pointed out that there are pivotal countries in the European Union, such as Germany and Italy, that will be directly and severely affected by such a step, which means, according to them, the difficulty of passing any decision in the direction of banning Russian oil imports to European countries.
To comment on what is happening and the chances of the European Commission’s proposal to impose an embargo on Russian oil being accepted by various EU countries, Maher Al-Hamdani, a researcher and expert on European affairs, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “Getting rid of European dependence on Russian energy sources, It is a very thorny subject within the European bloc and the Western bloc in general, which are inconsistent and incompatible with ways to deal with this sensitive issue, as there are countries that depend almost entirely on Russian energy sources such as gas, oil and coal, and there are other countries that can in the near future Dispense in the near future, especially of Russian oil and coal.
He adds: “There are also other countries that have completely dispensed with Russian energy sources, as is the case with Britain, which was importing only 8 percent of its energy needs from Russia during 2020 and during the past year the percentage shrank to only 3 percent, which made it easy for them to take Escalatory steps towards Russia because it is in need of Russian energy, which many European countries are unable to do because of their urgent need for Russian gas in particular.
The most affected would be in the event that Europe abandons Russian energy resources, as the expert in European affairs explains: “It will be Germany and Italy, and there are countries that have acquiesced even to all Russian conditions, most notably the payment in Russian rubles such as Slovakia, Hungary and Austria, and there is even talk that Germany also pays in Russian rubles in one way or another. “.
In addition, there are countries that Moscow has completely cut off energy imports from, such as Poland, as Al-Hamdani explains, adding: “They are now suffering from the consequences of this, but they have taken care through a series of steps to reduce the severity of those consequences, and that the rest of the European Union countries have shown solidarity with them to help them in this ordeal. “.
That is why the spokesman believes that “the scene is very complex, as in mid-May, the time to pay for Russian energy imports to European countries will come, and then it will become clear who are the countries that can actually abandon those imports or not, and it will be the most difficult test for the countries of the old continent, and for this The European Commission is holding a summit to discuss this file, and it has announced that within 6 months it may be able to completely dispense with Russian energy resources, except for gas.
It is a questionable pledge, as Al-Hamdani expected, continuing: “The fact that the European bloc is witnessing sharp and deep divisions and quarrels on this issue, especially since the European Union granted exceptions to that ban in advance to countries such as Slovakia and Hungary, and perhaps later countries such as Italy, Austria and Germany are excluded, and this dispute may cause The European-European Union about banning Russian energy imports or not, in the practical disintegration of the European bloc and the fragmentation of the unity of the European decision.”
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced before the start of the European Union meetings that the Commission will propose, as part of the next sixth package of sanctions, a gradual ban on all imports of Russian oil into the European Union.
According to it, the planned embargo will be implemented gradually until the end of 2022, and then Russian oil purchases will be completely stopped.
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