No threat to oil supply security in Hungary, Slovakia, EU Commission says

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The European Commission has deemed sanctions imposed by Ukraine on Russian oil producer Lukoil to be of no risk to the oil supply for Hungary and Slovakia, as they do not affect the transit of oil via Ukraine to Hungary.

In a letter addressed to foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, European Commission Vice President for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said that according to information received from Hungary’s MOL, the importer of the Russian oil, the oil becomes property of the trading companies at the Russian-Ukrainian border, and is therefore not subject to sanctions.

“Commission services have preliminarily concluded that urgent consultations do not appear to be warranted as there is no current indication of an immediate risk to the security of supply,” the letter, seen by Reuters, said.

Slovakia and Hungary – two countries that have opposed western allies’ military aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion – have been complaining about Kyiv’s move to put Lukoil on its sanctions list last month, saying it prevented them from buying Russian oil for their refineries, threatening security of supply.