Hungary has again blocked funding from the EU fund that helps Ukraine with weapons.
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Most member states insisted on the need to lift the block on payments that have been delayed for months. At the same time, they noted the need to move forward on the decision on the new support fund for Ukraine, which has been blocked by one member state for more than a year, said EU Foreign and Security Policy Representative Josep Borrell.
This Member State insisted that this was something unacceptable, intolerable, and unfortunately the situation with the blockade continues, he added.
Budapest is blocking the funds even though it has received assurances that Hungary’s contributions to the European Peace Fund will not be used for any military aid to Ukraine.
The European Union will send the first tranche of frozen Russian assets to purchase weapons for Ukraine in early August. Borrell said this at a press conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. He said that at the meeting he “informed the ministers of the progress regarding the first tranche of 1.4 billion euros.”
Borrell also said that the next meeting of EU foreign ministers would take place in Brussels, not Budapest, due to Hungary’s position on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Hungary may stop exporting electricity to Ukraine due to the halt in transit of oil from Russia’s Lukoil. This was stated by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on July 22.
Szijjarto said his country had begun consultations with the European Union. According to the Hungarian minister, Ukraine’s decision to add Lukoil to its sanctions list, which led to the suspension of oil transit, “fundamentally threatens the security of energy supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.”
Hungary and Slovakia are demanding that the European Commission take action because of Ukraine’s sanctions on the transportation of Russian Lukoil oil through its territory. According to the governments of the countries, Kyiv’s decision violates the Association Agreement with the EU and is “unacceptable” if Ukraine wants to become a member of the union. So, against this background, Slovakia, together with Hungary, appealed to the European Commission.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had previously complained to Denys Shmyhal about the halt in the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine. During a telephone conversation with Shmyhal, Fico criticized the inclusion of the Russian company Lukoil, whose oil was also used by the Slovnaft refinery, on the sanctions list.
Fico considers these sanctions “senseless” because, in his opinion, they do not harm Russia, but mainly some EU member states.
Source: Racurs
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