BRUSSELS (AP) — Hungary is blocking the European Union’s latest sanctions package targeting Russia’s shadow fleet and energy revenues, the European Union’s top diplomat said Monday.
EU foreign policy chief Kaya Karas said that the EU’s 27 foreign ministers gathered in Brussels and may not reach an agreement on the 20th sanctions package, which the EU hopes to pass before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“I don’t think there will be progress on this today,” Karas told a regular meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, where the 20th sanctions package is scheduled to be discussed.
The meeting comes after Hungary threatened over the weekend to block an EU sanctions plan and block a €90 billion loan to Ukraine until Russia resumes oil shipments to Hungary.
Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia have been disrupted since January 27, when Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone strike damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude into Ukraine and into central Europe. This led to increased tensions between Budapest and Kyiv.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stepped up his efforts on Monday, accusing Ukraine of deliberately blocking Russian oil shipments and accusing Kiev of trying to overthrow his government.
In a post on social media, Orban called the oil supply disruption a “Ukrainian oil blockade” led by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We have given President Zelensky a firm and appropriate response,” Orban wrote. “He must also understand: by attacking Hungary, he will only fail.”
To pass sanctions, the 27-nation bloc needs to reach a unanimous decision.
Karas said efforts to advance the EU’s 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine will continue on Monday.
Hungary’s upcoming elections hang in the balance, EU talks hang in the balance
Facing a crucial election in less than two months, Orban has launched an aggressive anti-Ukrainian campaign and accused the opposition Tisza party, which leads in most opinion polls, of conspiring with the EU and Ukraine to establish what he described on Monday as a “pro-Ukrainian government aligned with Brussels and Kiev.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorsk said he believed Hungary’s surprise statement on Sunday might actually be about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s fierce fight to retain power.
“I would have expected a greater sense of solidarity in Hungary towards Ukraine,” he said in Brussels. “The ruling party managed to create a hostile atmosphere against the victims of the aggression. And then it is now trying to exploit this in the general election. This is very alarming.”
Since Moscow launched a full-scale war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, almost all European countries have significantly reduced or completely stopped Russian energy imports. However, EU and NATO members Hungary and Slovakia have maintained or even increased their supplies of Russian oil and gas and obtained temporary exemptions from the EU’s ban on Russian oil imports.
Other Europeans urge solidarity with Ukraine
“Tomorrow we will enter the fifth year of the war,” Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Brase said before the meeting. “We are fully committed to the 20th sanctions package, including the ban on maritime and maritime services, but also to a political commitment, an economic commitment and a military commitment to support European values.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadfel said he was “surprised by Hungary’s position”.
“I think it would be wrong if Hungary betrayed its own fight for freedom and European sovereignty,” Wadfel told reporters in Brussels, alluding to Hungary’s role in the collapse of communism in Europe in 1989. “So we will once again present our arguments to the Hungarians in Budapest and certainly in Brussels to make them reconsider their position.”
“Germany’s position is very clear: we must now show strength, we must support Ukraine sustainably, and we must do what we did last year: continue to increase pressure on Russia,” Wadfel said. He added that he was convinced that the EU would “eventually” agree on the 20th sanctions package.
In addition, the EU will provide Ukraine with a huge loan of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) aimed at helping Kyiv meet its military and economic needs in the next two years.
“We have to release this money. We have to reach an agreement among member states because Ukraine needs this money very much,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.
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Corbett reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Justin Spike in Budapest and Gail Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.