European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives for a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday. She vowed to find a solution to a threat by Hungary to veto the bloc’s latest round of sanctions against Russia. Photo by Olivier Matthys/EPA
Feb. 23 (UPI) — A new package of European Union sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the 20th such set of measures, was stalled Monday after being blocked by Hungary, which is demanding Ukraine reopen a pipeline supplying it with Russian oil.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there was “not going to be progress” on the new round of sanctions at Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels in time for the fourth anniversary of the war, which falls Tuesday.
“We are doing our utmost to have the sanctions package, through, and we are looking for ways how we can do it. But as we have heard some very strong statements from Hungary. I don’t really see they are going to change this unfortunately today,” she said.
“We should not tie together things that are not connected to each other at all. But let us listen to them explaining the reasons why they are blocking, and then see whether there are possibilities to overcome.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto took to social media Sunday to make Hungary’s quid pro quo stance clear.
“The EU aims to adopt the 20th sanctions package at the Foreign Affairs Council. Hungary will block it. Until Ukraine resumes oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, we will not allow decisions important to Kyiv to move forward,” Sijjarto wrote on X.
The pipeline was damaged in a Russian attack, but Hungary insists Ukraine is dragging its feet getting it up and running again.
The financial services, trade and energy sanctions package drawn up by the European Commission would bring in a full maritime services ban for Russian crude oil, reducing its income from energy and making it more difficult to find customers. Access to oil tankers for Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” will also be tackled, along with measures targeting its gas exports.
Transaction bans will be imposed on 20 more Russian banks as part of an effort to hobble Russian efforts to create its own payment systems to circumvent a ban on using the SWIFT international payments system while tightening restrictions on exports to Russia, including military-use goods and technologies, and import bans on Russian rare earth minerals, metals and chemicals, worth at least $1.1 billion in total.
Hungary’s block drew sharp criticism from Hungary’s EU partners with Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard telling Euronews it was a “shame” and a “disgrace.”
“Every delay that we have in the adoption of a sanctions package is a failure for Europe,” she said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he was certain the sanctions package would pass, saying it was a matter of when, not if, while Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw accused the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban of leveraging anti-Ukrainian sentiment it had whipped up to boost its fortunes in elections in April.
Hungary announced Friday it would also block a $105 billion EU loan to Ukraine, accusing Ukraine of blackmailing Hungary by shutting off the pipeline and conspiring with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to “create supply disruptions” in Hungary to push up fuel prices ahead of the election.
Orban previously agreed not to veto the loan, along with Slovakia and the Czech Republic, provided it was exempted from contributing financially.
Populist Orban has been in power since 2010 after a first term between 1998 and 2002 and has been president of his Fidesz, or Hungarian Civic Party, for the past 23 years.
