Hungary and Slovakia blocked a new package of sanctions against Russia. The package proposed by the European Commission on June 10 provides new restrictions for the energy sector of the Russian Federation, banks and defense industries.
But the adoption of sanctions requires unanimity – and it was at this stage that the plan was blocked by Budapest and Bratislava.
We did this because the European Union wants to ban the Member States, including Hungary and Slovakia, to buy cheap Russian natural gas and cheap Russian oil, as it was previously, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungacy Peter Siarto.
The Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said that he would not support the restriction if the EU does not offer a real alternative in case of permits from the Russian Federation.
Last week, the European commission proposed a law on the gradual abandonment of Russian fossil fuel by 2027, with some exceptions. Siarto said that Budapest and Bratislav want to cancel this policy in exchange for the adoption of the 18th package of authorized measures. The sanctions are punished for Nord Stream pipelines and a ban on fuel imports made from Russian oil to foreign countries such as India, China and Türkiye.
Formally, new sanctions require unanimous support for all 27 member states. However, despite consistent attempts to block new restrictions on Russian energy, the prime minister of Hungarian Government Viktor Orban gave a veto for previous packages.
According to Politico: Politico: Politico: Politico: Politico: Politico: Politico: Politico: Politico:
I don’t think this is a veto. Slovaks previously stated that they need to discuss this problem, so it does not change anything. I hope that today’s discussions are the path to a serious agreement on the European Council on Thursday.
This is the EU leaders in Brussels at the end of this week.
Another diplomat confirmed that the plan is to reconcile the agreement at the summit. EU leaders plan to discuss foreign policy, since the main topics of the agenda will support Ukraine and the proposed restrictions on Russia.
Source: Racurs
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