It's decided! EU sanctions blocked as Hungary and Slovakia refuse to back the 20th Russia sanctions package

The European Union failed to reach an agreement on its latest sanctions package against Russia during Monday’s foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, calling the outcome a “setback” but vowing that work would continue.

The 20th Russia sanctions package has been vetoed

“Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement on the 20th sanctions package. This is a setback and message we didn’t want to send today, but the work continues,” Kallas said, adding that outreach is ongoing with Hungarian and Slovakian authorities to advance the package.

Kallas said the decision to step back from the agreement reached by all EU leaders in the European Council is “regrettable” and violates the “sincere cooperation clause” in EU treaties.

She said EU Council President Antonio Costa and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will raise the issue with Viktor Orban, Hungary’s premier, who opposes the package.

The EU had initially planned to use Russian frozen assets to fund sanctions, but Kallas indicated that if the current approach fails, the bloc could return to this plan.

On Ukraine, Kallas emphasized that diplomacy is preferable to war but lamented that after more than a year of talks, there is still no ceasefire in the Ukraine war, which is turning four years old this week.

“It’s not Ukraine that is the obstacle to peace, Russia is. We must flip the script from pressure on Ukraine to surrender territory to what Russia must do to meet the basic conditions for just and loss of peace,” she said, warning that Moscow’s “maximalist demands cannot be met with minimal responses.”

Kallas announced that the bloc had decided to limit the maximum size of the Russian mission in the EU to 40 people, adding that the bloc will work to prevent “hundreds of thousands of former Russian soldiers” from entering the Schengen area to avoid “war criminals and sabotage roaming European streets.”

She also shared a paper with EU member states outlining the concessions the EU should see from Russia, including the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories and honoring existing international agreements.

Middle East, Venezuela

Turning to the Middle East, Kallas criticized Israel’s expansion of powers in the West Bank, saying it breaches international law and undermines the prospects for a future Palestinian state.

“Twenty-six countries want sanctions on the violent settlers (in the West Bank). It has been on the table for quite some time, and one doesn’t want (it) so this is clearly the problem that we have in our decision-making processes,” she said.

On current tensions between the US States and Iran, Kallas warned that the two countries are “inching dangerously towards war.”

“The window of diplomacy is very narrow, and of course, we have many concerns with Iran … but any military intervention risks hard-to-control consequences,” she said.

On Venezuela, Kallas said the EU will soon discuss a new approach, proposing to lift sanctions on acting President Delcy Rodriguez, contingent on reaching consensus.

As we wrote earlier, Germany and Lithuania criticize Hungary; the US and G7 are cautious, the Czech Republic supports it

Also we wrote, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said, Hungary directly harms Poland’s security interests

UPDATE – Minister Szijjártó: Kallas has begun pushing for Hungarian and Slovak soldiers to be sent to Ukraine

Brussels is colluding with Kiev to threaten the energy supply of Hungary and Slovakia, and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is not standing by the two member states in this situation, but is urging the deployment of Hungarian and Slovak soldiers to Ukraine, said Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on Monday in Brussels. At a press conference following the meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council, the minister reported that two “shocking” things had come to light at the meeting: one was that the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, wants Hungary and Slovakia to send soldiers to Ukraine, and the other was that Kiev is indeed colluding with Brussels on blocking oil shipments. He pointed out that this meeting had provided several lessons, making it clear that Europeans are preparing for a long war, that they want to send soldiers and much more money to Ukraine as soon as possible, and that they are talking about the country’s future EU accession as an inevitable and clear-cut matter.

“As for preparing for a long war, the Ukrainian foreign minister spoke about battlefield objectives for this year, i.e. for the whole year (…) Several European Union colleagues confirmed that the solution must be sought on the battlefield and that we must prepare for a long war,” he said.

“As for more money, my colleagues made it clear that the previously agreed €90 billion, now blocked by Hungary, only covers part of Ukraine’s financial needs, and they made it clear that a decision must be made in the near future to send even more resources, even more money, to Ukraine. This was confirmed by the Ukrainian foreign minister, who said that this year they need €155 billion just to run the army,” he continued. “Then my colleagues, both from the EU and the Ukrainian foreign minister, clearly stated that Ukraine is, of course, fully prepared for membership. And here, the ceiling did not come down, even though there was a realistic chance of it happening,” he said.

Péter Szijjártó also mentioned that, following the Ukrainian foreign minister’s “demands and accusations” via video link, his Luxembourg counterpart asked whether Kiev would agree to Hungarian and Slovak experts examining the condition of the Friendship oil pipeline on site, to which Andriy Sibiha began to “mumble confusedly” and replied that he would look into it and would have to consult with someone on the matter. In this regard, he believed that this “confusion” clearly demonstrated that the Ukrainian side was not telling the truth about the oil pipeline, since otherwise his former official partner would have said, “Of course, the Hungarian and Slovak experts can come anytime.” “My poor colleague from Luxembourg, who thought he could take a big swing at us and the Slovaks, has basically exposed the Ukrainians as liars regarding the condition of the oil pipeline when they claim that the pipeline is damaged or physically unsuitable for transport,” he noted.

“And the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, added fuel to the fire by saying that perhaps it is not experts who should be sent, but Hungarian and Slovak soldiers in this situation,” he said. “It is shocking and appalling that the Ukrainians and Brussels are colluding to jeopardize the energy supply of two EU member states, Hungary and Slovakia, and in this situation, instead of the European Commission standing by the member states, the EU High Representative is even starting to push for Hungarian and Slovak soldiers to be sent to Ukraine,” he added.

The minister stated that the Ukrainian leadership is lying about the damage to the pipeline, as it is technically fully capable of restoring supplies, which is in line with the Slovak government’s information. “So, since the Ukrainians are currently messing with us, the Ukrainians are currently attacking our sovereignty, (…) since the Ukrainians are jeopardizing the security of Hungary’s energy supply, Hungary is unwilling to contribute to any decision here in Brussels that would serve the interests of the Ukrainians, that would be important to the Ukrainians,” he warned. He then explained that he had made it clear at the meeting that the Hungarian government would not agree to the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions or the €90 billion war loan. “Obviously, we came under enormous attack from our Slovak colleague after that, but we stood our ground and made it clear that we would not change our position until the Ukrainians resumed full oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia,” he said.

Finally, he emphasized that daily efforts are still needed to stay out of the war, maintain utility price reductions, and prevent Hungarian people’s money from being sent to Ukraine. “How can we best respond in this case? By making the national petition a resounding success. Because the national petition can support the government’s position in Brussels, which is in line with Hungarian interests,” he concluded.

Ukraine war anniversary: Protesters rally at Russian Embassy in Budapest – photos