The EU is going to stop imports of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia with the help of duties

The European Union will impose duties on oil imports from Russia to force Hungary and Slovakia to switch to purchasing non-Russian oil. The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said this at a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday evening.

The US president has repeatedly called on European countries to stop buying energy from Russia and repeated his demand from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly.

"Trump is absolutely right. We are working on it," said von der Leyen.

She reminded that the EU has already significantly reduced gas supplies from Russia, completely abandoned Russian coal, and significantly reduced Russian oil supplies, but it still comes to the European continent.

"We are now imposing sanctions on ports where LNG from Russia is coming in, and we want to impose tariffs on Russian oil that is still coming into the European Union. We want to get rid of the residual oil and gas coming from Russia to the European Union," said the head of the European Commission .

When asked by a journalist when oil purchases might be stopped, von der Leyen replied: "We want to do it earlier, by the end of the year. Now sanctions have been proposed EU members have to approve them".

In the summer, the European Commission unveiled a plan to phase out Russian energy resources by the end of 2027, but last week extended the LNG embargo a year ahead.

• Slovakia and Hungary continue to cover most of their oil needs through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia. Despite the availability of alternatives, in 2024, Hungary's dependence on Russian crude oil increased to 86% (compared to 61% before the full-scale invasion), while Slovakia remains dependent at almost 100%.
• On September 16, US Senator Lindsey Graham threatened Hungary and Slovakia with consequences for buying Russian oil.