EU snubs Hungary and Slovakia over Ukraine oil sanctions

But on Thursday, the EU executive rebuffed the demand. Speaking to reporters, Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said urgent consultations “do not appear to be guaranteed,” arguing that in the Commission’s preliminary assessment, the sanctions do not pose “an immediate risk to [both countries’] security of supply.”

Ujvari said the Commission was still “verifying facts” and had responded to the Slovak and Hungarian letter with a request for more information.

Meanwhile, after meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday, EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis also said that oil exports to Hungary and Slovakia were “not affected, as long as Lukoil is not [the] owner of the oil.”

Following Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU imposed an embargo on imports of Russian oil but exempted pipeline supplies — including those coming to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline — to give those countries time to find alternative sources, with the understanding they would do so rapidly.