Millionaire sums would need Hungary without Russian oil

Budapest, May 16 (Prensa Latina) Hungary declared today that it could cost up to 18 billion euros to adapt its economy to abandon the use of Russian oil, under the new European Union (EU) sanctions package against Moscow.

May 16, 2022
17:22

That is why it is very legitimate for my country to wait for a proposal from the European Commission to cushion that blow, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Monday in information posted on his Facebook page.

In early May, the European Commission floated the idea of a total import ban on all Russian oil in the bloc as part of a sixth round of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.

However, Hungary remains firm in rejecting this proposal, alleging that its infrastructure does not allow it to dispense with Russian oil.

Other EU countries that do not have that dependency expressed a kind of frustration with Hungary for that position, to the point of raising the first voices that question the necessary unanimity for decisions on sanctions.

For his part, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said he hoped Monday’s ministerial meeting would “provide the political impetus” to break the stalemate over sanctions on Russian oil.

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