It is difficult for the EU to abandon the purchase of Russian oil "one move to control the enemy"

On May 30-31, the EU held an informal summit in Brussels to discuss the situation in
Ukraine.
After intense consultations and bargaining among the leaders of the 27 EU member states, the "boots" of the sixth round of EU sanctions against Russia have finally landed
.
This round of sanctions includes reducing the EU's oil imports from Russia by 92% by the end of this year, but the first phase only bans seaborne oil, and landlocked countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic can continue to buy crude oil from Russia through overland pipelines; 80 new Russian oligarchs and celebrities on the sanctions list against Russia; banning 3 Russian state televisions; Exclude all Russian banks, including Sberbank, from
the Global Society for Interbank Financial Communication (SWIFT) system.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the rotating presidency of the European Union, the sixth round of sanctions is of "historic" significance
.

As early as before the start of the summit, European Council President Michel said that the EU must send a clear signal to Russia that it hopes that the heads of state and government of the 27 member states will unanimously adopt the sanctions package at the summit and implement it
.
The oil embargo on Russia was the longest and most hotly debated topic
at the summit.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, upon his arrival in Brussels on May 30, stressed that "the 'negligence' of the European Commission has put us in a very difficult situation.
"
He criticized the Commission for introducing a sixth round of sanctions, including an oil embargo, without careful consultation with member states
.
He stressed that energy is essential for the country's economic and social development and that "sanctions must be imposed only after a solution has been found"
.
Orbán was confident because of the support of the Czech Republic and Slovakia behind it
.
Hungary is a landlocked country without a coastline, and 86% of its oil comes from Russian land pipelines, while the Czech Republic and Slovakia buy up to 97% and 100% of its oil from Russia through land pipelines
.
In order to fight for energy independence, Hungary has proposed to the EU to relax the time limit and financial subsidies for
updating oil and gas infrastructure.
But the European Commission has included a €750 billion European Revitalization Plan to support member states' energy independence, and Hungary has failed to carry out rule of law reforms and anti-corruption as required by the European Union and therefore has not been able to receive a €7.
2 billion subsidy
.

In the face of the strong demands of Hungary and other countries, in order to be able to reflect "solidarity" and "understanding and support" for inland members who do not have access to the sea, especially fearing internal divisions at the critical moment of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and even Orban's "veto", the EU finally decided to adopt a "special solution"
for Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Orbán expressed satisfaction with the plan after the summit, saying that "you can go home and sleep in peace.
"
But the EU's "care" for these three countries has also caused countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the Baltic countries and Romania to worry about
the imbalance in the EU's internal market.
As a result, the three countries are prohibited from reselling cheap oil
imported from Russia.
In addition, Bulgaria, which has been cut off from gas supplies by Russia, is also allowed to continue to buy Russian oil for the next year and a half, while Greece, Malta and Cyprus can continue to resell Russian oil
.

At a time when the EU is "hotly discussing the sixth round of sanctions against Russia", Russia's anti-sanctions against the EU are also underway
.
After cutting off gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland, Russia also took "gas cut-off" measures
against Denmark and the Netherlands, which refused to pay in rubles.
According to statistics from the European Commission, 40% of the EU's natural gas comes from Russia
.
Russia's first attack before the European Union pondered to deal with Russia's "cut off breath", leaving Europeans in a cold sweat
.
Observers here have noted that after the EU reached an agreement on banning the purchase of Russian oil, whether to ban the purchase of Russian natural gas in the next round of sanctions has become the focus
of attention of all parties.
If the EU abandons Russian natural gas, or Russia takes the initiative to "cut off gas" in Europe, it will be tantamount to the EU's economic revitalization plan, and for European families, this year will undoubtedly face a cold winter
of ice pot cold stoves.
Austrian Prime Minister Nehammer said that it is easier to find and return from elsewhere for the ban on Russian oil, and it is difficult to supplement the ban on Russian natural gas and must be taken
seriously.
Belgian Prime Minister Victor de Crowe said that the process of imposing sanctions on Russian gas is extremely complicated, and the EU should slow down the frequency of sanctions and consider the next sanctions plan
after carefully studying the effects of previous rounds of sanctions against Russia.
Some members of the European Union want to continue to increase sanctions against Russia, but also fear of causing greater harm to themselves, and their ambivalence is fully exposed
.

Analysts pointed out that Western countries believe that the embargo on Russian oil can reduce Russia's economic resources and military expenditure, cause the Russian treasury to be empty, and achieve the purpose of
containing Russia's military operations against Ukraine.
But it turned out that the first five rounds of Western sanctions did not have much practical effect and did not shake the foundations of
Russia's national economy.
The West's hope to blockade Russian oil exports to "defeat the enemy with one move" is too simplistic and even bizarre
.
Experts from EU think tanks pointed out that it should not be forgotten that oil and gas are Russia's main export resources, but the EU's failure to buy does not mean that Russia cannot sell
.
With the advent of the global economic recovery in the post-epidemic era, all countries need a lot of energy to develop their economies and ensure people's livelihood, and Russia can sell oil to other countries and regions in
the world.
Some media also pointed out that sanctions are a double-edged sword
.
The EU oil embargo on Russia not only cannot trap Russia, but has prepared a "hanging rope"
for itself.
In today's world, where peace and development have become the mainstream, the EU does not resort to peaceful negotiations, but uses sanctions and blockades to resolve military conflicts "on its doorstep".