EU sees no threat to Hungary and Slovakia from Ukraine's sanctions against Russian energy giant Lukoil
The European Commission is continuing to investigate the situation concerning oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia following Ukraine's halt of oil transit from Russian oil giant Lukoil. However, at this stage, no impact on oil supplies has been observed as a result of this decision.
European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari noted at a briefing that the relevant services of the European Commission had contacted the governments of all three countries to clarify the circumstances.
"From the information we have at our disposal and based on the internal analysis by the European Commission, it seems that the sanctions imposed by Ukraine against Lukoil do not affect the current transit of oil through the Druzhba pipeline, as Lukoil is not the official owner of this oil," Ujvari said.
He added that the European Commission is still awaiting more detailed explanations from Budapest and Bratislava to confirm its findings.
"I can also confirm that the European Commission services have tentatively concluded that urgent consultations are not warranted at this stage, as there is no indication of an urgent risk to supply security," the spokesman said.
Hungary and Slovakia are known to have been granted exemptions from the European-wide ban on Russian oil imports following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine recently stopped the transit of Lukoil products through the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungary and Slovakia argue that Kyiv's decision threatens their energy security and have initiated discussions with the European Commission.
Ukraine insists that de facto the same amount of oil is flowing through the pipeline as before, thanks to other Russian companies.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of consequences if Ukraine does not resume the transit of Russian Lukoil oil.
Budapest has threatened to block €6.5 billion in payments from the European Peace Facility to compensate for arms supplies to Ukraine until the problem with Lukoil's oil transit is resolved, and Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó claimed that it was the EU that asked Ukraine to stop transiting Russian oil.