EU unlikely to agree new Russia sanctions as Hungary blocks deal

The European Union is not expected to reach agreement on a 20th package of sanctions against Russia on Monday, as Hungary continues to block the measures.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there would be no breakthrough at a meeting of foreign ministers. “We are doing our utmost to get the sanctions package through,” she said, “but after the strong statements from Hungary, I do not see them changing their position today.”

The European Commission and member states had hoped to approve the new sanctions by Tuesday, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa are due to travel to Kyiv the same day and had aimed to arrive with a deal in place.

Talks among EU ambassadors have proved difficult, including over a proposed ban on certain maritime services. Hopes of an agreement faded after Hungary made clear it would block the package.

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said on Sunday that Budapest would not support decisions important to Kyiv until Ukraine resumes oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline. The dispute centres on the long-running row over Russian oil supplies.

Hungary has also threatened to block approval of a €90bn EU loan for Ukraine. The legal text for the loan is due to be formally signed on Tuesday, but it still requires final approval from member states. The European Commission hopes to release the first payment in early April.

Kallas insisted the issues should not be linked. “The problems they have are not related to the 20th sanctions package. We should not tie together things that are not connected to each other at all”, she said.

”We should not tie together things that are not connected to each other at all”

Several ministers expressed hope that a compromise could still be found. Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna described the situation as familiar, saying the reasons given by Hungary were “not Ukraine’s fault, but Russia’s”. Cyprus’s foreign minister Constantinos Kombos, who chaired the meeting, said there was not yet consensus on what he called an “ambitious and hard-hitting” sanctions package. France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the question was not whether the package would be approved, but when.

Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul, meanwhile, said he was astonished by Hungary’s stance, and Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski called Hungary’s position “shocking”, arguing that it had created hostility towards Ukraine for domestic political reasons ahead of elections in April.

The dispute comes weeks before Hungary’s parliamentary election, where prime minister Viktor Orban faces a strong challenge from opposition leader Peter Magyar.

Failure to agree the sanctions in time would be politically embarrassing for the EU as its leaders travel to Kyiv to mark the anniversary of the war.

^{Kaja Kallas © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}