Top European Union diplomats met on Monday in a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement on Russian oil import sanctions before their leaders meet later in the day, hoping to avoid a display of division over the bloc’s response to the Ukraine war.
According to a new draught of the summit conclusions, the 27 leaders should agree that their next round of sanctions will cover oil, with a temporary exemption for crude delivered by pipeline, a compromise that ambassadors were unable to reach on Sunday.
The text suggested that the leaders meeting in Brussels in the afternoon would not finalise the terms of the temporary exception.
Instead, they will ask diplomats and ministers to find a solution that ensures fair competition between those who continue to receive Russian oil and those who have been cut off.
According to one EU diplomat, it represents ‘limited progress’, with too many details still to be worked out for a full agreement at the two-day summit, where leaders will have few concrete results if the impasse over an oil embargo prevents a broader package of sanctions from being on the table.
The EU leaders will declare their continued support for Ukraine in order to help it repel Russia’s assault, and they will discuss how to deal with the consequences of the conflict, particularly the humanitarian crisis.
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