FT: The Baltic countries called on the EU to speed up the ban on Russian oil

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have called on the EU to speed up implementation of delayed plans to ban Russian oil imports. As the Financial Times reports , citing sources, this topic was discussed at a meeting of energy ministers, which took place on June 26.

The newspaper's interlocutors said that European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen did not comment on the statement of the Baltic countries during the meeting.

After the meeting, Jorgensen said that the current situation in the Middle East will likely avoid a shortage of aviation fuel in Europe. “We must admit that even if an agreement is reached, it will take several months to normalize the situation with oil, and several years with gas,” he added.

As the FT notes, last year the EU countries agreed that the European Commission would submit for consideration the issue of banning the import of Russian oil. However, negotiations on this issue were suspended after the outbreak of the US and Israeli war with Iran, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies pass.

The Baltic countries have called for a return to discussion of these measures after the US and Iran entered into a memorandum of understanding that includes opening the Strait of Hormuz. However, on Friday and Saturday the sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire and exchanged blows after an attack on a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

The FT notes that countries that are heavily dependent on it, such as Hungary and Slovakia, may oppose a ban on imports of Russian oil. However, individual EU member states will not be able to veto this measure.

• Previously, the European Union agreed to phase out the import of Russian LNG by the end of 2027. According to the FT, the proposal to ban oil imports was supposed to be discussed on April 15, but in March it was removed from the preliminary agenda of the European Commission.