The main European countries buying Russian oil in 2025 are Hungary and Slovakia. Hungary imports crude oil and natural gas from Russia, spending around 13 billion dollars on oil and gas, while Slovakia spends about 10 billion dollars, with a large portion of their imports being crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Other notable European importers of Russian fossil fuels include Belgium, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, with EU imports of Russian fossil fuels including crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and oil products. The EU overall still imports some Russian fossil fuels, but has imposed bans and sanctions on maritime imports of crude oil and refined products to reduce dependence, though exemptions remain for some pipeline deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia. Key points:
- Hungary is the largest EU importer of Russian fossil fuels, including crude oil and pipeline gas.
- Slovakia also imports significant amounts of Russian crude oil and has an exemption to refine and re-export Russian oil products.
- Belgium and France import Russian LNG.
- The EU imports about 6% of Russia’s crude oil exports and 51% of Russian LNG globally.
- Despite sanctions, pipeline deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia continue under EU exemptions.
- Turkey, while partly in Europe, is also a major importer but not an EU member.
- The EU is considering accelerating the phase-out of Russian fossil fuels.
This shows that Hungary and Slovakia remain the primary EU countries reliant on Russian oil in 2025, with others importing LNG or smaller amounts of oil products.
