The EU will not impose sanctions on Russian gas or oil, Hungarian Prime Minister ngViktor Orban said in a video posted on his Facebook page on Friday, amid a summit of the bloc’s leaders in France.
“The most important issue for us has been settled in a favorable way: there won’t be sanctions that would apply to gas or oil, so Hungary’s energy supply is secure in the upcoming period,” Orban added.
The EU’s decision is at odds with the US, with President Joe Biden on Tuesday imposing an immediate ban on Russian oil and energy imports.
However, Europe is more reliant on energy supplied by Russia.
About 45 percent of the gas imported by Italy comes from Russia, while for Germany, 55 percent of gas purchases are supplied by Moscow.
But if gas represents 42 percent of Italy’s energy consumption, it only represents a quarter for Germany.
Simone Tagliapietra, professor of energy at the Catholic University of Milan, told AFP that due to soaring prices the EU would pay, beginning in April, 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) per day to Moscow for its energy needs.
Gazprom
Russian natural gas company Gazprom said on Friday it was continuing gas shipments via Ukraine at an unchanged volume of 109.5 million cubic metres a day, according to Reuters.