We hope that an agreement on the Russian oil embargo will be reached within days

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a speech at the European Parliament’s plenary session at EU headquarters in Brussels on 23 March 2022.

John Tees AFP | Getty Images

DAVOS, Switzerland – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told CNBC on Tuesday that she hoped an agreement to sanction Russian oil would be reached in the coming days.

The 27 EU countries have been blocked over the oil embargo against Russia for several weeks, with countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic blocking the measure. All sanctions imposed by the EU must be approved by all 27 Member States in order to be implemented.

“I hope we are talking about days. “So what we’re looking at is one or two landlocked Member States, so they can’t have oil overseas and they need alternatives in pipelines and refineries, and that’s where we’re trying to find solutions.” said von der Leyen on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

“We are working very hard on the oil embargo,” she added.

The EU decided to block Russian coal imports last month, but imposing restrictions on oil has proved a much more difficult task. Countries that are heavily dependent on Russian fossil fuels are concerned about the effects of such measures on their own economies.

Hungary is reportedly seeking financial support of between 15 billion and 18 billion euros ($ 16 billion to $ 19 billion) to withdraw from Russia’s energy sector, for example.

The oil stagnation also raises questions about whether the bloc will be able to stop buying Russian natural gas, the main fossil fuel the EU buys from Russia.

The topic of energy security has excited many European politicians for some time, but has attracted even more attention after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking on the main stage of the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, von der Leyen said there was no doubt that “we are witnessing Russia arming its energy supplies.”

The Kremlin has demanded that “unfriendly nations,” such as EU countries, pay for Russian gas in rubles. Poland and Bulgaria – two EU countries – cut off Russian gas supplies earlier this year after refusing to pay for goods in Russian currency.