EU leaders agree to ban 90% of Russian oil by year-end

European Union leaders have agreed to embargo most Russian oil imports into the bloc by year-end as part of new sanctions on Moscow after Hungary blocked a total ban. 

The deal would cover more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports and exert ‘‘maximum pressure on Russia to end the war [in Ukraine]," EU Council President Charles Michel said.

Ursula Von der Leyen, the head of the EU's executive branch, said the punitive move will “effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.”

An agreement was reached late on Monday evening after hours of negotiations at a summit in Brussels. 

EU leaders have already hit Moscow with five rounds of sanctions, but a crucial deal banning oil imports had been held-up by Hungary, which gets more than 60% of its oil from Russia.  

The compromise agreement temporarily exempts Russian oil delivered to Europe by pipeline, a key concern of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban. 

The new package of sanctions will also include an asset freeze and travel ban on individuals, while Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank, will be excluded from SWIFT, the major global system for financial transfers from which the EU previously banned several smaller Russian banks. Three big Russian state-owned broadcasters will be prevented from distributing their content in the EU.

“We want to stop Russia's war machine," Michel said, lauding what he called a “remarkable achievement."

“More than ever it’s important to show that we are able to be strong, that we are able to be firm, that we are able to be tough,” he added.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier urged EU leaders to end “internal arguments that only prompt Russia to put more and more pressure on the whole of Europe.” 

Mr Zelensky said Moscow must be made to feel ‘‘the price for what it is doing against Ukraine" and the rest of Europe.

Only then, he added, would Russia be forced to “start seeking peace.” 

Plans for an embargo on Russian oil were first announced by EU leaders in early May, but were met with resistance by Hungary, as well as Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. 

Hungary is particularly reliant on Russian oil, which is supplied through a Soviet-era pipeline.  

"They (Hungary) are in a difficult position because they are using the Russian oil and because their refineries are only working on this particular crude," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at the end of Monday's summit.  He added, "so in that sense I think they have a point." 

“More than ever it’s important to show that we are able to be strong, that we are able to be firm, that we are able to be tough,” he added. 

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