In another retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, EU leaders agreed to ban the majority of Russian oil imports after late-night talks on Monday, May 30. It would be the sixth set of sanctions that have been severely delayed, with European Council President Charles Michel calling it a “remarkable achievement”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the ban “will effectively reduce Russia’s oil imports to the EU by about 90%”. She also said the EU had agreed to “large-scale investment in renewable energy” to eliminate dependence on Russia.

The ban would include purchasing oil and petroleum products by sea but temporarily exempt Russia from sending oil through pipelines. Countries like Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic can buy more time to phase out Russian crude supplies.

Exemptions are a key need for Hungary, whose economy relies heavily on Russian oil shipped through the Druzhba pipeline. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also been assured that Hungary can still buy Russian oil from other sources in an “accident” when the Druzhba pipeline passes through Ukraine.

The EU has already banned imports of Russian coal but is only now doing the same for natural gas. The agreement comes against Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom cut gas supplies to the Netherlands. The same goes for Poland, Bulgaria and Finland.