EU chief to meet Orban amid Russia oil ban row

EU chief to meet Orban amid Russia oil ban row

EU chief to meet Orban amid Russia oil ban row

EU chief to meet Orban amid Russia oil ban row

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EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Hungary to meet with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is delaying Brussels’ plans for a Russian oil embargo On Monday.

“They will discuss issues related to European security of energy supply,” von der Leyen’s spokesman Eric Mamer said.

Hungary is reliant on Russian oil via a single pipeline, and Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stated that he will not vote for the European Commission’s proposed sixth package of EU sanctions on Moscow.

Orban’s office told national press agency MTI that von der Leyen would arrive in Budapest later Monday at his headquarters in the city’s former Carmelite monastery.

As von der Leyen set off, Orban’s international spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, citing foreign minister Peter Szijjarto, compared the sanctions package to an “atomic bomb” for Hungary’s economy.

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“Hungary will not vote for the EU Commission’s initiative on sanctions against Russia because it poses a problem for Hungary and does not contain a proposal for a solution,” he tweeted.

“The proposal is like an atomic bomb for the Hungary economy and would destroy our stable energy supply.”

European diplomats in Brussels are locked in negotiations on a sixth — and major — round of sanctions designed to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The draft was drawn up by experts in von der Leyen’s commission, the EU executive, but several member states have reservations — most vocally Hungary.

By the end of the year, most EU states would have stopped importing Russian oil, with Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic getting a one- or two-year reprieve.

Technical talks are continuing, and negotiators claim that the EU is united around the need for stronger sanctions, but Hungary and its neighbours want assistance in securing alternate fuel sources.

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