EU Considers 'Financial Compensation' To Hungary Over Oil Sanctions

Politico has reported that 'EU officials are considering offering financial compensation to Hungary in an attempt to persuade Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to sign up to the bloc's proposed sanctions on Russian oil.'

• Politico cites three EU officials in their report, suggesting that a diplomatic assault from EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen yesterday evening and today has failed to convince Orbán of the merits of sanctioning Russian oil.
• According to the Elyse Palace French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke to Orbán this morning to 'finalise in a spirit of solidarity the guarantees which are necessary for oil supply conditions.'
• Orbán has argued that sanctioning Russian oil would be tantamount to 'detonating an atomic bomb' on the Hungarian economy.
• In article earlier today WSJ's Laurence Norman wrote that the sanction package is likely to come together but the process is now 'officially messy'. Norman: 'No clear timeline. And no-one quite knows what Orban will do.'
• The current EU plan to phase out Russian oil would give Hungary until the end of 2024 to end Russian imports - significantly longer than other EU member states.