The EU's compromise on oil sanctions left massive carve-outs for 3 countries that allows Russia to keep selling oil worth billions of dollars
- The EU reached an agreement to ban most Russian oil imports over its invasion of Ukraine.
- But three countries are exempt, with officials saying they need more time to adjust.
The EU on Monday reached an agreement after months of negotiating to ban most Russian oil imports after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The ban will immediately block more than two-thirds of oil from Russia, according to the president of the European Council. It will "effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
But the plan involves a compromise that means the landlocked countries of Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia will not be part of the ban, even though they are EU members.
That's because the ban only covers oil that arrives from Russia by sea, and not by pipeline, which is how those three nations receive their oil from Russia, the BBC noted. The three exempt countries spend billions on Russian oil a year.
The EU's ban was reworded earlier this month to allow those three countries to still get oil from Russia by pipeline.
Officials said it was designed to help those countries adjust to a ban on Russian oil, but also came after lobbying by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
There is no time limit for how long the three countries can keep getting the oil by pipeline.
Both Michel and von der Leyen, as well as the leaders of some EU countries, said that the issue of their exemption would be looked at again "as soon as possible," Politico reported.
Germany and Poland also get some oil from Russia by a pipeline, but have agreed to stop buying Russian oil altogether by the end of the year, according to Politico. This means that the northern section of a major pipeline out of Russia will be cut off, though it will still come through its southern part, Politico noted.
The EU has spent billions on Russian oil since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The price of Russian oil has risen since the EU announced its ban.
The ban still needs to be officially approved by European Council.