Hungary vows to block the EU's plan to ban Russian oil unless it gets an exception
- Hungary won't support the EU proposal to ban Russian oil unless there's an exception for imports via pipeline.
- "We cannot responsibly vote for it," Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook.
Hungary won't support the European Union's proposal to ban Russian oil unless it excludes countries that import it via pipeline.
"In its current form, the Brussels package cannot be supported. We cannot responsibly vote for it," Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian foreign minister, said a Facebook video, according to the Financial Times.
Earlier Wednesday, the EU unveiled plans for a full embargo on Russian oil that would be phased in over six months.
But as an EU embargo would require a unanimous decision by all its 27 member states, Hungary's opposition represents a speedbump in the trading bloc's attempt to turn up the pressure on the Kremlin for its war on Ukraine.
Slovakia and the Czech Republic have also voiced concerns over the Russian crude cutoff, as both countries — like Hungary — receive a steady flow of Russian oil from pipelines.
Szijjártó said the provisions from the EU don't allow for Hungary to maintain energy security, and is too sudden of a cutoff to adequately adjust.
The EU countered by allowing Hungary and Slovakia up to a year to comply with the new regulations, but both countries requested two years.