Hungary’s Orban escapes EU sanctions on Russian oil

Hungary’s divisive leader has once again got his own way with the European Union – this time in tough negotiations on Russian oil at the recent summit in Brussels.

“We have protected [the government’s cap on household utility bills] and successfully staved off a proposal by the Commission that would have prohibited the use of Russian oil in Hungary,” Orban said after his return from Brussels where EU member states discussed a ban on the import of Russian gas.

“We have enough problems already,” he was quoted by the Budapest Times as saying.

“Energy prices are soaring, inflation is high, and all of Europe is teetering on the edge of a global economic crisis because of the sanctions.

“Under these circumstances, it would have been unbearable for us if we had to run the Hungarian economy with dearer oil, it would have been like a nuclear bomb, but we successfully avoided this,” he posted on Facebook.

• What can Europe learn from Orban’s victory in Hungary’s elections?

Under the compromise agreement, all Russian oil being brought into the EU by sea, is to be banned while a temporary exemption for imports delivered by the Russian Druzhba pipeline to certain landlocked countries in Central Europe remains in place. | More On RFI.fr