The European Union is difficult to refuse Russian oil in the short term and will continue to buy large quantities of oil

Recently, the EU has pushed for an embargo on Russian oil in an attempt to further "punish" and sanction Russia. However, in the context of high dependence on Russian energy, it is difficult to form a unified opinion within the EU. It is difficult for some European countries to completely reject Russian oil, and they will still buy large quantities in the short term.

According to comprehensive media reports, in early May, the European Commission proposed the sixth round of draft sanctions against Russia. The sanctions plan includes disconnecting Russia's largest state-owned commercial bank, Sberbank, from SWIFT, and banning three Russian state-owned TV channels from broadcasting in the EU.

However, the most talked about sanctions plan is the embargo on Russian oil. European Commission President von der Leyen said the EU plans to ban imports of Russian crude after six months. European Council President Michel said that the current round of sanctions is aimed at breaking the mechanism of Russian military operations and will introduce sanctions related to Russian oil. At the same time, Michel pledged to provide financial support for all projects that can differentiate the source of the EU's energy supply and reduce energy dependence on Moscow.


Due to the high dependence on Russian natural gas and oil, it is difficult for EU countries to reach a unified opinion on energy sanctions against Russia. According to the procedure, the proposal needs to be unanimously agreed by all EU member states to enter into force. The proposal was not approved due to objections from some countries. Countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria have all requested EU exemptions to continue buying Russian oil.

The reasons why it is difficult for EU countries to reject Russian oil in a short period of time mainly include two aspects:

First, in terms of quantity, Rosneft has a larger market share in European countries. Data show that in 2020 Russian oil accounted for 24.9% of the total imports of the EU-27. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the sanctions package crossed Hungary's "red line" and "undermined" the unity and unity of the European Union. Budapest will veto any EU proposal to restrict the import of Russian energy because Hungary does not intend to "impose sanctions to hurt itself," the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, Gorgy Gujas, previously said.

Second, from a technical point of view, the replacement of Russian oil is not an overnight thing. In theory, EU countries can replace Russian oil with oil from the Middle East and the United States. However, the problem is that a large number of oil refineries in Europe are technically suitable for refining Russian oil, and technical upgrading will take time, because different regions, different The grades of oil differ in many indicators such as impurity content, density, sulfur content, etc.

In fact, before the EU discussed the embargo on Russian oil, countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia have successively announced that they will stop importing Russian oil. However, some Western companies are exploiting loopholes in the rules to circumvent sanctions restrictions on Russian energy purchases.

According to foreign media reports, Western countries continue to purchase Russian energy through unconventional means, such as using the rules of ship transportation destinations that "may not be clear enough", transferring Russian oil to larger ships, and then mixing it with other countries' oil to hide. oil source. Moreover, for Western countries, as long as the proportion of Russian oil in the mixed oil does not exceed 50%, it does not belong to the sanctioned Russian oil. In this regard, the United States and the United Kingdom and other national oil companies have not given a clear negative comment.

In addition, even with the constant waving of the stick of energy sanctions, the EU is still importing a lot of Russian oil. According to a report by consulting firm Energy Aspects, the EU currently buys about 2 million barrels of oil from Russia per day, almost three times the usual rate. The report also said that before the oil embargo, European countries will still buy a lot of Russian oil.

In the face of energy sanctions, Russia's position remains the same. On the one hand, Russia believes that energy sanctions against Russia will hurt Europe itself. Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee, said that blindly following the United States has made European energy consumers pay a high price. If it continues, the European energy crisis will only intensify. On the other hand, Russia does not refuse to cooperate with European energy and continues to maintain its role as a "reliable energy supplier". Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov stressed that Russia has been and remains a reliable energy supplier. The new terms for paying for gas in rubles are not extortion, but a decision based on the freezing of Russia's large foreign exchange reserves.

The continuous wielding of sanctions by Western countries may create serious spillover risks in the energy sector. The head of the International Energy Agency, Birol, believes that sanctions and retaliatory measures against Russia will have serious consequences for energy markets. Many experts also said that Russia is an important exporter of oil and natural gas in the world. In the context of the world facing an energy crisis, Russia's measures to respond to sanctions by Western countries may have a further impact on the international energy market.

Article source: Economic Daily