The European Union may still reach an agreement on the Russian oil embargo in the coming days or look for “other means” if no agreement is reached, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at today’s G7 talks in Berlin, according to Reuters.
Talks to date have made little progress so far, with Hungary, Moscow’s closest ally in the EU, vetoing the move.
Hubeck said all EU countries must reduce their dependence on oil.
“This includes Hungary. If you take this as a basis for discussion, then an agreement should be possible. If you include other issues in the oil embargo, it will be very, very difficult,” he said.
“I know that intensive discussions are going on. In five days we have the next EU Council, I guess this is the corridor in which either an agreement will be reached or other means will have to be considered.” He did not specify what those other means might be.
Brussels has already proposed giving Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic more time to impose an embargo than other EU countries.
The EU has also offered up to € 2 billion in oil infrastructure to help these countries switch to non-Russian supplies.
Hungary, however, said about 750m euros in short-term investment would be needed to withstand an embargo, while a total modernization of its energy system would cost billions.
Source: Capital
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