Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban’s far-right government is coming under pressure to agree to renew sanctions the European Union has placed on Russia, with a decision expected when EU foreign ministers meet on Monday.
Wide-ranging sanctions intended to cut Russia off economically and limit its military capability were introduced in response to its invasion of Ukraine and need to be renewed every six months by all EU states. In recent days Hungary has hinted it could veto the renewal of sanctions at the end of this month, causing concern among diplomats and EU officials in Brussels.
In a speech broadcast earlier this week, Mr Orban criticised the EU, saying it did not want peace and was “pushing for war”. The populist prime minister said sanctions on Russia had “punched European companies in the stomach” and high energy costs were killing off businesses.
Diplomats from the 27 EU states discussed the roll-over of sanctions on Friday, with a push for a decision to be taken by foreign affairs ministers when they meet in Brussels on Monday.
One senior EU diplomat said Budapest would be “playing with fire” if it blocked the EU’s sanctions on Russia. The move would plant a “bomb under the transatlantic relationship”, given US president Donald Trump had signalled his intention to put pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war, the diplomat added.
Another EU diplomat said there was no “plan B” if Hungary decided to block the sanctions regime. “Plan A is the only plan, the renewal of the sanctions,” the diplomat said.
Sources said they expected Hungary would not oppose the renewal of sanctions when it came down to it. “We expect a positive result,” one high-ranking EU official said. “Our assessment is that sanctions are hurting Putin’s regime and we should continue on that line, because it’s preventing him from having more assets to wage the war against Ukraine,” the official said.
“We have learned over the years to make a very clear distinction between what we hear in Budapest and what is actually going on in Brussels,” one EU diplomat said. “The European Union cannot go into panic mode each time someone says something in Budapest,” they added.
There appeared to be an effort by Hungary to link movement on sanctions to a deal on Russian gas supply, the diplomat said. Hungary and Slovakia, who have both been sceptical of the EU supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, have complained about being cut off from supplies of cheap Russian gas. A deal where Ukraine had allowed Russian gas to transit through its territory to central Europe came to an end at the start of this year.
Hungary is said to have raised concerns about its energy security during a discussion between diplomats on sanctions renewal on Friday, according to a source in the room.
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