In June, Ukraine imposed sanctions to prevent Russia's largest private oil company Lukoil from selling Russian oil to Central Europe via the country's oil pipeline.
Hungary and Slovakia sent a letter to the EU executive agency, calling on the EU to open urgent consultations with Ukraine on the move to block Russian oil flows, a necessary measure before taking legal action. Two Central European countries accused Ukraine of violating a 2014 trade agreement with the EU by blocking the flow of Russian oil into these two countries.
On August 1, the European Commission rejected this request. The Commission announced there were no plans to start formal negotiations with Ukraine after Kiev imposed a ban on Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
According to Politico, European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said urgent consultations "do not appear to be warranted".
He said that in the Commission's preliminary assessment, Ukraine's sanctions on oil flows from Lukoil do not create "immediate risks to the security of supply" of both Hungary and Slovakia.
The spokesperson revealed that the Committee is still "verifying the information" and has responded to letters from Slovakia and Hungary requesting more information.
Meanwhile, after meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on August 1, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis also informed that oil exports to Hungary and Slovakia are not affected with non-Lukoil oil flows.
According to the Financial Times, Brussels asked Budapest and Bratislava to find alternative sources of Russian oil. EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said Hungary and Slovakia "should actively pursue supply diversification away from Russian fossil fuels".
Hungary and Slovakia depend on Russian crude, including Lukoil, which flows through Ukraine through the Druzhba pipeline.
A Commission spokesman told the Financial Times that Hungary and Slovakia have enough supply because the total amount of oil coming in has not decreased. The "urgent consultations" requested by the two countries, under the EU's trade agreement with Ukraine, are not necessary.
Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis noted that Hungary and Slovakia could use existing oil pipelines to transport crude oil from Croatia.
"The Commission's current analysis indicates that Hungary and Slovakia have sufficient capacity through alternative pipelines such as the Janaf Adriatic pipeline," he said.
He added that during last week's meeting to discuss Ukraine's blocking of Russian oil flows attended by representatives of all EU member states, "a large number of delegates" asked why To date, Hungary and Slovakia have not explored alternative options."
He pointed out that the Hungarian energy company MOL "stated in official letters that Lukoil is not actually the owner of the oil transported through Ukraine to the MOL group", meaning the pipeline supply Oil leader Druzhba is not affected by Kiev sanctions.
MOL has long-term contracts with Russian suppliers . Crude oil from Russia accounts for only 3% of demand in the bloc, the European Commission said.
Slovakia confirmed it will provide more information to the European Commission. "As long as the lifting of the oil supply blockade is not resolved, we consider the situation serious and threatening to Slovakia's energy security," Slovakia emphasized.
