Hungary agrees at last minute to approve extension of sanctions against Russia - Politico
Budapest agreed to make concessions and support sanctions against Russia in exchange for a statement addressing Hungary's concerns about "energy security".
According to Censor.NET, Politico writes about this.
The scenario in which Hungary blocks the extension of sanctions today is "not a baseline scenario," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told reporters.
"That would leave all the EU and Hungary in a position of weakness … That would also limit the U.S. in [terms of] options seeking a long-term sustainable peace in Europe," the Lithuanian foreign minister said.
Hungary's threat has prompted high-level warnings, including from Polish Prime Minister Tusk, who wrote in X:
"If [Orbán] really blocks European sanctions at a key moment for the war, it’ll be absolutely clear that in this big game for the security and future of Europe, he is playing in Putin’s team, not in ours. With all the consequences of this fact."
One EU diplomat said that Hungary was "playing with fire" and "putting a bomb in transatlantic relations" if it blocked the sanctions.
"They [the Hungarians] like the drama," said a third EU diplomat, who added that the measures would be rolled over one way or another.
The EU extends the existing sanctions every six months, and this requires a unanimous decision by 27 member states.
Earlier it was reported that on the morning of 27 January, EU ambassadors will hold a meeting on energy security. The main goal of the talks is to resolve differences with Hungary, which threatens to block the extension of sanctions against Russia.
In December, the EU approved the 15th package of sanctions against Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Previously, the extension of sanctions was a routine decision, and usually the political decision on this was made at the last EU summit of the year. However, it is known that at the last summit in December, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told his colleagues to wait until after Trump's inauguration.
Back in November, Orban said that the European Union should reconsider sanctions against Russia because they cause high energy prices, which hinder the bloc's economic competitiveness.
