EU hopes to extend sanctions against Russia, but Orban may veto decision - Bloomberg
The EU has faced resistance from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as he refuses to agree to extend sanctions against Russia for six months.
According to Censor.NET, Bloomberg reports this with reference to sources.
In the coming days, EU ambassadors will hold several meetings to see if they can make progress on the decision to extend the sanctions.
Several diplomats said that there is currently no plan B in case Orban continues to block them.
If EU diplomats fail to agree on the extension of sanctions this week, the issue will be referred to foreign ministers who are due to meet in Brussels on January 27, the newspaper writes. The deadline for a final decision is January 31.
The sources said that the EU still hopes to resolve the issue of extending the sanctions this week.
Despite the fact that the extension of sanctions remains at a standstill, the EU continues to discuss the 16th package of sanctions. Most of these plans also require Budapest's support.
EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that the EU should consider additional sanctions to limit Russia's energy export revenues.
"Imports of Russian liquefied natural gas are actually growing at this time, so there are ways in which we can still put more pressure on Russia," he explained.
