The European Commission will not present the legislative proposal to completely ban Russian oil imports into the EU on April 15, as previously planned, according to the updated legislative agenda of the EU executive published on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

However, a European official told this news agency that the EU executive had by no means abandoned the proposal, but that it would be presented at a later date, the postponement being determined by “current geopolitical developments”, a reference to the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran, a conflict that has increased oil prices and partially interrupted the flow of oil from the Gulf following the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Agerpres.

The original date of April 15 for the presentation of this legislative proposal was set by the European Commission to be after the legislative elections taking place on April 12 in Hungary, a country dependent on Russian oil and which, together with Slovakia, is currently locked in a dispute with Ukraine, which it accuses of keeping the flow of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline blocked. The European Commission thus aimed to avoid helping the conservative Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban exploit the issue and to prevent the ban on Russian oil imports from becoming a campaign issue in the elections.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has reduced its energy imports from Russia and has already decided to stop imports of Russian oil transported by sea, but has made an exception for oil delivered by pipeline, since Hungary and Slovakia are landlocked and have difficulty obtaining oil from other sources.

The expected proposal from the European Commission would establish by law a complete elimination of Russian oil imports into the EU by the end of 2027 at the latest, a measure that would remain in place even if European sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine are lifted.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argued this month that a return to Russian energy would be a “strategic blunder” that would make Europe more vulnerable.

The EU executive also rejected a call last week by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever for the EU to normalize relations with Moscow in order to regain access to cheap Russian energy.