This year, the EU bought almost 20% more Russian oil from Indian refineries than last year.
With this, the European Union added billions of dollars to the aggressor’s budget, Politico reported, citing a report from the Center for the Study of Democracy think tank.
India will replace Saudi Arabia as Europe’s top fuel supplier in 2024.
According to the analysis, from January to August the EU purchased 6.7 million tons of oil worth 5.4 billion euros from large Indian refineries in Jamnagar, Vadinar and New Mangalore.
Overall, India’s fuel imports to the EU fell 9% this year compared with 2023, while purchases at the country’s three main refineries that process Russian crude rose a modest 4%.
However, the price of produced fuel has increased significantly.
The publication notes that although the purchase of fuel produced from Russian oil at refineries in third countries does not formally contradict EU sanctions, it destroys the EU’s efforts to limit Russia’s income from the sale of hydrocarbons.
By allowing third countries such as India and Türkiye to re-export petroleum products made from Russian oil, the EU provides the Kremlin with the opportunity to replace a lost market in Europe. Additional revenues were able to offset the huge costs of military operations in Ukraine, emphasizes CSD senior analyst Martin Vladimirov.
The funds are a welcome relief for Russia, which is increasingly in need of money to prop up its budget as the ruble falls and defense spending soars.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic and Slovakia argued over Russian oil and the adoption of the 15th package of sanctions against Russia was postponed. Reuters writes that two EU member states blocked the adoption of the package due to disagreements over extending the grace period granted to European companies to withdraw investments from Russia.
Also discussed was the continuation of the exemption allowing the Czechs to import diesel fuel and other products obtained from Russian oil at the Slovak refinery.
The Czech side stated that it did not need an extension of the permit. However, Slovakia insisted on continuing. The Slovak oil refinery Slovnaft, owned by the Hungarian company MOL, is a major exporter of diesel fuel produced from Russian oil to the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic considers an extension of six months acceptable. In parallel, the country is modernizing a section of the pipeline from Italy to Germany in order to completely abandon Russian oil by the second half of 2025.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.