A two-day special summit of European Union leaders concluded on Tuesday afternoon with the ban on Russian oil remaining the big main takeaway.
ADVERTISEMENTA two-day special summit of European Union leaders concluded on Tuesday afternoon with the ban on Russian oil remaining the big main takeaway.
It took 26 days for member states to come to a compromise on the sixth round of sanctions targeting Moscow with the final product not as broad as initially envisioned -- Hungary and other landlocked countries secured a carve-out in order to continue importing Russian oil via pipeline for at least 18 months.
But the embargo should still result in imports of Russian crude oil being cut by up to 90% by the end of the year -- Germany and Poland have said they too will wean themselves off Russian oil by the end of the year despite their pipeline connections -- and is thus expected to deliver a crushing blow to the Russian economy and ability to finance its war in Ukraine.
Tuesday saw leaders discuss the consequences of the war on global food supplies and energy markets.
The Council called on member states to accelerate work on solidarity lanes to export wheat and other grains out of Ukraine. It called on the Commission to explore ways to curb rising energy prices by introducing temporary import price caps with the help of international partners.
Leaders also pledged to strengthen cooperation and coordination when it comes to defence spending and procurement.
Here's how the day unfolded: