Czechia abandons import of Russian oil – Reuters

Czechia decided not to apply to the European Union for an extension of the exception to the European ban on imports of Russian petroleum products introduced in 2022.

Source: Reuters with reference to the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The ban on the supply of Russian petroleum products was approved within the framework of EU sanctions against Russia. But Slovakia, Hungary and Czechia have been granted exemptions to the ban in order to have time to find alternative sources of supply.

Quote: "In the context of the current situation and steps that Czechia is taking to secure independence from imports of oil from Russia, the Czech Republic does not see a reason why the exemption should be extended," the Czech Trade and Industry Ministry told Reuters.

Czechia’s exemption ends on 5 December.

The country imports around eight million tonnes of oil each year from two sources: over 60% via the Druzhba pipeline, which transports oil from Russia, and the remainder via the German IKL pipeline, which connects to the Italian TAL pipeline beginning in Trieste.

Previously, Czechia stated that it intends to eliminate reliance on Russian oil by developing TAL. This is projected to double the capacity of oil transported to Czechia to up to eight million tonnes per year starting next year.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala previously stated that the Czech Republic will be independent of Russian oil by the middle of 2025 at the latest.

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