The European Union is mulling imposing trade restrictions on continued Russian fuel imports via the Druzhba pipeline feeding Hungary and Slovakia,
Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
According to them, these plans are separate from a proposed 19th sanctions package on Russia that would affect Russian LNG and oil tankers that the European Commission (EC) views as the country’s shadow fleet.
Unlike sanctions which need the support of everybody in the EU, the news agency continued, trade measures such as tariffs would only require the backing of a majority of member states. This is how the EU expects to meet a key demand from US President Donald Trump who called for tariffs on China and India as punishment for buying Russian crude despite opposition from Budapest and Bratislava.
Earlier on Saturday, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis announced that even as the EU’s new package of anti-Russian sanctions will not target Russian oil purchases, it will affect LNG supplies. He stressed that work on the phase out of Russian fossil fuels would continue, but did not specify the timeframes.
Earlier, the EC proposed abandoning Russian LNG by the beginning of 2027, or a year earlier than originally planned.
