The Hungarian prime minister is seen as a last resort against attempts by Ms von der Leyen to stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year.
According to the plans of the head of the commission, the EU countries will stop the supply of crude oil within six months, and refined products by the end of the year.
However, officials gave Hungary and Slovakia until the end of 2024 to comply with the measure, while the Czech Republic was offered a deadline of June of that year to comply.
Hungary relies on the Druzhba pipeline, which pumps oil to Europe via Belarus for two-thirds of its supplies. That figure rises to about 96 percent for Slovakia.
But Peter Siarto, Hungary’s foreign minister, said: “We have voted in favor of all sanctions packages so far, but the latter would destroy security of energy supply in Hungary.
“Hungary will not vote on the European Commission’s initiative for sanctions against Russia because it is a problem for Hungary and does not contain a proposal for a solution. The proposal is like an atomic bomb for the Hungarian economy and would destroy our stable energy supply. “
As an additional blow to the EU’s proposed sanctions, Bulgaria has threatened to veto the measures unless it is offered such an exemption.
“Our position is very clear,” said Deputy Prime Minister Asen Vassilev. “If there is a derogation for some of the countries, we also want to get a derogation. If not, we will not support sanctions. But I do not expect to come to this based on the talks at the moment.”
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