Oil transit from Russia through Ukraine: EU rejects Hungary and Slovakia's request for urgent consultations

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by Bloomberg.

A spokesman for the European Commission said that the EU's analysis shows no immediate risk to supplies for the two countries, and that the European Commission is now waiting for more detailed information from Hungary and Slovakia.

Earlier today, European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told Hungary and Slovakia that preliminary analysis shows that Ukraine's new sanctions against Russia's Lukoil do not affect transit operations carried out by trading companies through the Druzhba pipeline as long as Lukoil is not the formal owner of the oil.

Dombrovskis also discussed the issue with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a phone call on Thursday.

As reported by Ukrinform, Slovakia and Hungary said they stopped receiving oil from their key supplier Lukoil after Ukraine banned the Russian energy company's resources from transiting through its territory via the Druzhba pipeline last month. The move angered officials in Slovakia and Hungary, who argued that blocking the supply would jeopardise their energy security. Last week, the European Commission received a letter from the foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia complaining about Ukraine's sanctions against Lukoil.