The EU failed to agree on the 15th package of sanctions against Russia

European Union officials failed to agree on a 15th round of sanctions against Russia.

The package included, among other things, extending the Czech Republic’s import of Russian oil products, which mostly come via Slovakia, Reuters reported.

Diplomats said the two member states blocked the sanctions package over disagreements over extending the time given to European companies to exit Russia. The package, which also includes restrictions on tankers carrying Russian oil, will be revisited by EU members later.

EU ambassadors debated extending an exemption that allows the Czech Republic to continue importing diesel and other products derived from Russian oil and produced at a Slovak refinery. While the Czechs said they did not seek an extension of the permit to import Russian oil, Slovakia sought to preserve the agreement, which expired on Thursday, December 5.

Slovak refiner Slovnaft, owned by Hungary’s MOL, is a significant exporter of diesel fuel made from Russian oil to the Czech Republic. Czech officials have said a six-month extension could be accepted. The 27 EU countries banned most oil imports from Russia after the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary were exempted from the sanctions because they had no other supplies. However, the Czech Republic is upgrading a pipeline from Italy to Germany to transport more oil and completely abandon Russian products by the second half of 2025. USM previously reported that the 15th package of sanctions against Russia was to ban 45 Russian tankers from calling at EU ports.