EU member states have reached an agreement to ban the import of Russian oil delivered by ships, and Hungary will be able to procure oil via Croatia in case of problems with the Druzhba pipeline.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at the recent EU summit that Croatia’s JANAF oil pipeline could increase its capacity by 30% in 20 to 30 days by investing only €8 million.

He said JANAF transported 11.4 million tonnes of crude oil annually. A 30% increase would bring capacity to more than 15 million tonnes, enabling normal supply for Hungary and Slovakia.

Speaking to the press on Monday night, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen dismissed speculation that Hungary could depend on Russian oil for years to come and said that according to Plenkovic, Hungary could be supplied by JANAF. She mentioned a deadline of 45 to 60 days for increasing JANAF’s capacity.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday before the summit that the proposal to exempt oil delivered by pipeline from the import ban was a good approach. He added, however, that Hungary needed a guarantee that it would have secure oil imports in the event of an incident with the Druzhba pipeline.

Orban decided against vetoing the ban on Russian oil imports to the EU by the end of the year almost a month after the Commission proposed it.

Two thirds of Russian oil is imported via EU tankers. Since Germany and Poland announced that they would completely give up Russian oil by year’s end, the import of Russian oil will drop by 90%.