“The EU is going to extend sanctions against the Russian Federation, Hungary must back down – Bloomberg The EU plans to extend sanctions against Russia, and Hungary will stop its resistance to this decision. In return, the EU will provide guarantees regarding the bloc’s energy security.”, — write on: unn.ua
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Budapest has been delaying a decision since December, when Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told EU leaders he wanted to wait for Donald Trump’s inauguration before deciding whether he would agree to extend the restrictions. EU sanctions must be renewed every six months, and although this is usually a routine decision, it requires the support of all member states.
Trump has made it clear that he may increase sanctions against Russia if Vladimir Putin does not come to the negotiating table to discuss how to end the war. However, the Hungarian prime minister later linked the sanctions discussion to his country’s energy security and called on the EU to put pressure on Ukraine to resume the transit of Russian gas to Europe. The EU has approved 15 sanctions packages approved from February 2022.
After several meetings of the bloc’s ambassadors failed to agree on an extension this month, the matter was to be referred to foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday.
“Hungary is expected to sign the extension on Monday,” the sources said.
In return, the bloc’s executive body “will provide several guarantees in a statement regarding the bloc’s energy security,” one of the sources said. The statement will confirm the commitment to help Ukraine restore and stabilize its infrastructure, as well as solve the issue of gas and oil supplies, the publication writes.
Orban keeps the EU in tension with threats to block the extension of sanctions against the Russian Federation, but a deal is in sight – Politico01/27/25, 10:24 am • 12124 views
Russian gas stopped flowing to Europe via Ukraine this month after a long-term transit contract expired on December 31. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the weekend that Kyiv is ready to allow the transportation of Azerbaijani gas through the country.