FT learned of Hungary's refusal to support new sanctions against Russia

Hungary opposed a new package of sanctions against RUSSIA and a proposal to double the EU fund that finances arms supplies to Ukraine, writes The Financial Times, citing senior EU diplomats.

“This is becoming quite predictable,” one of the interlocutors of the publication stated, recalling that Hungary had previously vetoed a €18 billion aid package to Ukraine. According to diplomats, European countries fear that Hungary will “take hostage” all upcoming decisions EU, on which a unanimous decision of all countries of the union is required. “We should expect drastic steps, we should be ready,” said one senior diplomat.

In addition to the ninth round of sanctions against Russia, another decision that Budapest could veto is the expansion of the Schengen area, candidates to join which are Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

In early November, the European Commission decided to provide Ukraine with €18 billion in “very soft loans” in 2023 to pay salaries and pensions, keep hospitals and schools running, and restore critical infrastructure destroyed by shelling. However, Hungary did not support the idea. The Prime Minister of the country, Viktor Orban, proposed to determine the total amount that the EU is ready to give to Ukraine, and to distribute it “proportionately and fairly” among the countries. Hungary itself intends to pay Kyiv 60-70 billion forints a year (about €150 million) under a bilateral agreement. Orban explained that Hungary continues to oppose supporting Ukraine through joint borrowing within the EU, as this makes European states into debtors.

In October, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said that Hungary would not support additional EU sanctions against Russia in the energy sector and that Budapest needed further cooperation with Gazprom as a reliable supplier of natural gas in the context of a long-term energy crisis in Europe.