EU revises its plan to ban Russian oil

Hungary and Slovakia given a year long exemption before having to comply with EU sanctions banning oil from Russia.

Hungary's Viktor Orban has warned EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that an oil ban risks fracturing the EU’s unity over Ukraine. Picture: Bloomberg

The European Union has proposed a revision to its Russia oil sanctions ban that would grant Hungary and Slovakia an extra year to comply beyond what they had already been offered, giving them until the end of 2024, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Czech Republic would separately be granted an exemption until June 2024, the people said. All other member states would phase out their imports by the end of this year as originally proposed, with imports of crude halting in six months and refined petroleum products in eight months.