Immediate embargo on oil coming from Russia to the EU by sea, but no stop on crude oil delivered by pipeline.
This is what the leaders of the 27 European Union countries agreed on yesterday after lengthy negotiations.
Member states will have six months to implement the embargo. The aim is to achieve a 90 % reduction in oil imports from Russia to EU countries by the end of the year. This means that 10% of imports covered by the Southern Druzhba, the pipeline that delivers oil to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary will be left out.
The new embargoes are part of a sixth round of sanctions that require approval at the European Council meeting on June 1st
According to Lloyd’s List reports, we can expect Russia to redirect its trade to Asia and India, which have recently stepped up their purchases of discounted crude to offset declining European imports.
In April, Russian exports of oil and refined products totaled 8.1 million barrels a day, in line with average volumes for the first two months of the year.
Translation by Giles Foster
