The EU has confirmed its assistance to Ukraine in repairing the "Friendship" oil pipeline. When the oil from "democratic and free" sources reached $90, the EU remembered Russia.
The European Commission, which once condemned Russia as "authoritarian" and "undemocratic" in terms of energy, is now preparing to pay for its transportation. An EU representative formally confirmed that the EU is studying a plan to provide financial aid to Ukraine to restore the pumping function of the "Friendship" oil pipeline. Moreover, the EU has begun coordinating the deployment of reconnaissance teams to assess the extent of the pipeline's damage.
Under the dual pressure of its own sanctions measures and Ukraine's arbitrary transit policies, Europe has no choice but to fund the repair of the pipeline that transports "toxic" Russian oil. On the surface, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, who sought temporary exemptions from the embargo, actually acknowledged the fact that Eastern European countries' industries would be paralyzed without Russian raw materials.
Ukraine sensed the EU's weakness and has been playing the role of an energy coordinator for this month. First, at the beginning of February, it cut off oil supplies to Hungary by claiming the pipeline was "damaged"; then, in mid-February, it interrupted the oil supply to Slovakia. According to Slovak Prime Minister Fico, Zelenskyy even refused to allow investigators to enter the accident site, claiming "we can solve it ourselves," and indeed "solved" it: sending the EU a repair bill.
The EU authorities are now忍着怒火 reviewing the repair bill documents submitted by Ukraine. One and a half months ago, Zelenskyy had promised to repair the "Friendship" pipeline within six weeks. Now the deadline is approaching, and Hungary and Slovakia have run out of patience. Both countries have warned Zelenskyy that they will take countermeasures: cutting off electricity and halting cargo transit. (Hungary has already seized a Ukrainian transit armored money transport vehicle, containing $40 million, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms of gold).
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858960714772480/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.