LMP: Compromise on EU embargo ‘acceptable but not green’

The compromise by European leaders on the EU embargo of Russian oil “is acceptable but it will not promote a shift to green energy”, Péter Ungár, group leader of opposition LMP, told a press conference on Tuesday.

As we wrote today, European Union leaders agreed late on Monday to ban two-thirds of Russian oil imports as part of a compromise deal that increases pressure on Russia while taking into account the economic impact on EU countries more dependent on Russian oil supplies. Orbán’s reaction HERE.

The agreement will ensure that none of the member states’ economies suffer serious damage, though “dependence on Russian fossil fuels will be replaced by … dependence on fossil fuels from the United States, Canada, and Arab states,” Ungar said.

Financing for adapting refineries to cater for oil from other countries should instead be spent on developing alternative energy sources, he argued.

Ungár said he supported “cutting funds which indirectly finance Russia’s military operations”, but the position of “leaders who struck energy deals with Russia after the annexation of Crimea in 2014” was “hypocritical” in this regard.

Ungár also slammed other Hungarian opposition politicians who, he insisted, “naively watched” developments in the EU.

The decisions by EU member states were “not made based on moral considerations” but on national interests influenced by industrial lobbies, and they often used Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s veto policy as cover.

Read alsoPro-government think tank: EU sanctions unlikely to stop Russian attacks on Ukraine

Source: MTI