Friendship in the Czech way: Czechia spent 5 times more on Russian oil than on aid to Ukraine
15 October 2024 10:04
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Republic spent five times more on Russian oil and gas than on aid to Ukraine. This is stated in a report by the Centre for Research of Energy and Clean Air (CREA), according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
Russia’s oil and gas sector is the most important source of revenue for the Kremlin, accounting for 32% (€97 billion) of the country’s federal budget in 2023. An important component of this revenue stream is pipeline deliveries to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which were granted an exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil imports. The purpose of the exemption was to give these EU member states more time to reduce their dependence on Russian crude. However, “something went wrong” or the ulterior motives behind the decision were quite different.
Because in fact, purchases of Russian oil have hardly changed. Oil exports through pipelines brought Russia €2.5 billion in export revenues in the first half of 2024 alone, with about a fifth of this amount coming from the Czech Republic.
Although this country ostensibly supports Ukraine in its defence against the Russians, since the full-scale invasion, the Czech Republic has sent €7 billion to the Kremlin through fossil fuel purchases, which is more than five times the amount of aid provided to Ukraine – €1.29 billion.
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The Czech government has not made sufficient efforts to phase out Russian energy imports, the report says. In 2022, Russian oil accounted for 56% of the country’s total oil imports. This figure even rose to 60% in 2023 and only in the first quarter of 2024 returned to a level similar to the “pre-war” one – 49%.
In the first half of 2024, the Czech Republic imported 1.2 million tonnes (worth €542 million) of Russian pipeline oil, which is the same as the average imports before the invasion (€574 million in the first half of 2021).
“Although average monthly imports of Russian crude oil fell by 46% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, this decline was not the result of Czech efforts to reduce dependence on Russian oil, but rather the result of two unexplained interruptions in the supply of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline in the second quarter,” the report says,
– the report says.
At the same time, the Centre’s analysts argue that the Czech Republic can easily manage without Russian oil.
“The interruptions in crude oil imports have also shown that the Czech Republic can maintain normal oil supplies to consumers even with a drop in imports, as the country’s refineries can get enough alternatives without a jump in domestic oil prices,”
– analysts say.
However, even after the monthly cuts, the Czech Republic’s imports of Russian crude oil brought the Kremlin €300 million in tax revenues in the first half of 2024.
In total, according to CREA, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the European Union has bought €195.7 billion worth of energy from Russia.
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