EU Rejects Hungarian, Slovak Complaint Over Ukrainian Sanctions on Russian Oil
The Facts
The EU this week rejected a complaint from Hungary and Slovakia over Ukraine's introduction of sanctions against the transit of crude oil from Russian supplier Lukoil.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia were both granted exemptions from the EU-wide ban on Russian oil imports.
The Spin
Pro-Ukraine narrative
While the European Commission is still investigating, Ukraine's sanctioning of Lukoil does not threaten the wider transit of oil to Hungary and Slovakia. They have other suppliers available to them — something they agreed to seek out when they were initially granted the exemption on Russian oil imports.
Establishment-critical narrative
By rejecting the initial request and calling for more information, the European Commission is simply playing for time. The EU is taking these actions against Hungary and Slovakia because they oppose its pro-war policies, seeking to find peace rather than extend the conflict.