European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently announced that an embargo on Russian oil may be soon coming.
According to CNBC News, the European Commission has been in talks to negotiate sanctions on Russian oil which have been been ongoing for several weeks. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are currently blocking the measure and all 27 EU countries must come to an agreement before sanctions can be imposed on Russia.
Von der Leyen was hopeful that an agreement could be reached soon and that EU members were working hard to find solutions to address the concerns of some of the blocking member countries.
“I hope we are talking about days. So what we are looking at is one or two member states that are landlocked, so cannot have oil via the sea and need alternatives in pipelines and in refineries, and there we are trying to find solutions,” von der Leyen said at the World Economic Forum, as reported by CNBC News.
Countries that are highly dependent on Russian oil are worried about the impact the embargo could have on their economies. Hungary, for example, has requested 15 billion to 18 billion euros to be able to renounce Russian energy, according to CNBC News.
The EU agreed to block Russian coal imports last month, but coming to an agreement on Russian oil has been more difficult. The inability to make a decision over Russian oil has caused some to question whether the EU will be able to block imports of Russian natural gas, the EU's main fuel import from Russia.