Jörg Kukies, one of Chancellor Olaf Solz’s closest advisers, said Berlin was in favor of the oil embargo, but it took “a few months” to prepare for the end of Russian crude shipments. Germany had previously stated that it would need it by the end of the year. With the EU discussing its toughest sanctions in Moscow this week, Berlin’s willingness to speed up its timetable raises the possibility of a full EU oil embargo. Germany, the EU’s largest economy and most powerful member, was initially reluctant to impose sanctions on Russian oil at the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. But it has steadily shifted its position as the war continues, a sign of the EU’s determination to stop paying Moscow for energy, despite the potential economic impact on the bloc. “We are asking for a scrutiny period,” Kukies told the Financial Times. “We want to stop buying Russian oil, but we need some time to make sure we can bring other oil sources to our country.” Most German refineries have already turned to other suppliers. Tensions between Russia and the West over energy have escalated in recent days, with Moscow cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. The European Commission is preparing a sixth package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine, which is now in its third month. The measures are expected to target Russian oil, Russian and Belarusian banks and more individuals and companies.

Commission officials met in person with the ambassadors of the Member States this weekend in a bid to find a general consensus on the terms and details of any move to curb Russian oil inflows, which make up more than a quarter of the total. of block crude imports. They hope to draft a formal proposal by Tuesday. The ambassadors will discuss the proposal on Wednesday, two officials who took part in the talks said, warning that no final agreement could be reached at the meeting. While Berlin wants an oil embargo, some countries, such as Italy, are pushing for other measures, such as a price cap or tariffs on Russian oil. Poland and the Baltic states are also calling for a complete ban. Hungary and Slovakia’s onshore oil infrastructure adapting to the mainland means they have few supply options and will also have to repair their natural oil refining network. “This is not just a matter of political decision-making, but also a matter of engineering,” said a senior EU official, who added that the affected countries were considering some form of funding package to help pay for the necessary infrastructure in return for their support. for embargo. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned that his government “will not succumb to any pressure to extend sanctions on Russia over gas or oil, as this would kill the Hungarian economy”. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told CNN last week that 85 per cent of Hungary’s gas supply and 65 per cent of its oil supplies came from Russia and that “there were no alternative delivery routes that would allow us to get rid of the Russian oil and Russia. gas for the next two years. . . We did everything we could to differentiate ourselves. “ Germany also needs to adjust quickly in the event of an oil embargo. The biggest challenge comes from two refineries in East Germany, Schwedt and Leuna, which are heavily dependent on Russian oil. Both are connected by a pipeline known as Druzhba – in Russian “friendship” – which draws argon directly from Russia.

Kukies said work was under way to ensure that Schwedt, which is operated by Russia’s state-owned oil company Rosneft, could be supplied by tankers carrying non-Russian oil to Rostock in the Baltic Sea. But for that to happen, “the port of Rostock needs to be deepened and work needs to be done to connect the pipeline. [it] in Schwedt “. He added: “It’s a matter of a few months.” He said officials were in talks with “several oil companies, the European Commission and the Polish government” to provide Schwedt with alternatives, a process he acknowledged was “challenging”. However, he insisted that Germany “will solve all the problems by the end of the year at the latest”. The discussion on oil sanctions comes as EU energy ministers are due to hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the implications of Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom’s decision to suspend shipments to Poland and Bulgaria last week. Russia has shut off its gas supply after the two countries refused to comply with a Kremlin order to settle ruble payments. Brussels has warned Member States that doing so would violate EU sanctions.