The clock for renewal was ticking fast as sanctions on Russian individuals and companies were set to expire by midnight on Saturday.
Hungary has agreed to drop its veto and allow the renewal of the sanctions that the European Union has imposed on more than 2,400 individuals and entities, mainly from Russia, in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The resolution happened on Friday, less than 48 hours before the measures were set to expire, a risky deadlock that had put the bloc in a situation of extraordinary suspense.
Sanctions have to be renewed every six months by unanimity, meaning one member state can single-handedly derail the entire process.
Hungary’s veto was confirmed several times this week in meetings between ambassadors, with unsuccessful attempts on Monday, Wednesday and, most recently, Thursday afternoon. Each failure sent the clock ticking on.
Budapest demanded several names be removed from the blacklist, several diplomats told Euronews. The names were not made public, but Radio Free Europe previously reported the identity of seven oligarchs, including Mikhail Fridman and Dmitry Mazepin, and Russia’s sports minister as part of the request.
Following intense discussions behind the scenes, a compromise was eventually reached to release four names rather than the eight Hungary wanted. Additionally, three individuals who are dead were excluded.
As a result, the prolongation for another six months was approved on Friday morning. The sanctions were set to expire by midnight on Saturday.
The saga marks the second time in three months that Viktor Orbán’s government has put Brussels on edge by threatening to undo the sanctions regime that the bloc has painstakingly built since February 2022.
In January, it took exception to sectoral sections, which cover sweeping bans on oil, coal, technology, finance, luxury goods, transport and broadcasting, and the freezing of €210 billion in assets from Russia’s Central Bank.
Budapest relented after obtaining a non-binding statement on energy security.
This time, it set its sights on the blacklist that includes hundreds of military commanders, government officials, oligarchs, propagandists and Wagner Group mercenaries, all of whom are subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban.
President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, are designated.
The blacklist also targets hundreds of Russian companies in the military, banking, transport, energy, diamond, aviation, IT, telecoms and media sectors.
Hungary argues that Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president and his efforts to strike a peace deal merit a rethink of EU support for Ukraine and EU sanctions on Russia.
The stance is not shared by other member states, who believe pressure on Moscow should continue for the duration of the war. They also want to pursue a “peace through strength” strategy to reinforce Ukraine’s standing in the negotiations and establish the country’s armed forces as an effective, long-lasting security guarantee.
Orbán disagrees with the “peace through strength” mantra and last week prevented the adoption of joint conclusions on Ukraine at the end of a special EU summit, forcing his fellow leaders to release an attached “extract” signed off by 26.
“Hungary has a different strategic approach on Ukraine,” said António Costa, the president of the European Council. “That means that Hungary is isolated among the 27. We respect Hungary’s position, but it’s one out of 27. And 26 are more than one.”
Leaving the summit, Orbán replied: “The European Union has isolated itself from the US, isolated itself from China because of the trade war, and isolated itself from Russia because of the sanction policy. So if someone is isolated here, it’s the European Union.”
The stark political divergence played out during the talks among ambassadors, with Hungary managing to block the roll-over on at least three separate occasions this week.
The veto happened the same week that US and Ukrainian officials announced significant progress in their negotiations, easing tensions between both sides.
Ukraine said it was ready to implement an interim 30-day ceasefire provided Russia reciprocated, while the US agreed to immediately lift the suspension on military assistance and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, which caused consternation in Brussels.
“Ball is in Russia’s court,” said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In response, Vladimir Putin said he was in favour of the proposal but asked for certain “nuances” to be clarified before committing himself. Putin heavily implied that Ukraine should stop receiving Western weaponry for the duration of the ceasefire.
The European Commission has confirmed that it is already working on a 17th package of sanctions against Russia.
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