European Union To Discuss Ban Oil Exports From Russia

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced members of the European Union (EU) have formally proposed implementing a ban on all imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022. “It will not be easy,” Leyen warned. “Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it.”

The ban reportedly will apply to all imports, “sea-borne and pipeline, crude and refined” and will occur in “orderly fashion” over the next seven months. Specifically, the EU will end crude imports within six months and refined imports by the end of 2022.

According to The Hill, EU member states purchase about a quarter of the gas their consumers use from Russia, or about 2.3 million barrels of Russian oil a day. That number was about half of all Russian exports in 2021.

The proposed ban would still require a vote by all EU member states, and the proposal still lacks full approval from all member states. Hungary and Slovakia are both particularly reliant on Russian oil, and, according to news reports, eventually could be exempted from the ban for up to 20 months.

Stay tuned to Connecting the Dots for more information as this story develops.