Why for some EU capitals, Russian oil is thicker than blood

Why for some EU capitals, Russian oil is thicker than blood

Good morning and welcome to Europe Express, coming to you from blooming Washington this week — where the FT’s first stateside Weekend Festival will take place on Saturday.

The EU is inching closer towards sanctions on Russia’s oil exports, with German officials telling the Financial Times that Berlin still needs a few monthsto get everything ready. Other capitals, notably Budapest and Bratislava, are still reluctant to endorse the plans, which are expected to be finalised tomorrow and put to EU ambassadors on Wednesday.

With EU energy ministers gathering in Brussels today to discuss issues surrounding the other Russian fossil fuel imports — natural gas — after Russia cut off Poland and Bulgaria’s supplies, we’ll bring you the latest on where things stand and what the central European arguments are.

Later this month, a second round of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council will take place in Paris — and we got our hands on the draft conclusions, which see an impetus for faster and deeper transatlantic co-operation prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Crude truths

Do you know your Druzhba from your Adria, and can you tell a barrel of Urals blend from Brent? As EU officials are finding out this week, not all oil