The European Union has agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for six months after Hungary withdrew its 'reserve,' Radio Liberty's Europe editor Rikard Jozwiak told UNN on Monday, UNN reports.
Details
"White smoke: sanctions against Russia extended for six months. Hungary has withdrawn its 'reserve'," Jozwiak wrote.
According to Radio Svoboda, on the morning of January 27, EU ambassadors agreed on positions with Hungary, which allowed them to unblock the extension of EU sanctions against Russia, which expire on January 31. In particular, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU member states, i.e. ambassadors (COREPER), agreed on steps to support the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia, including negotiations with Ukraine on energy transit, an EU official familiar with the negotiations told Radio Liberty.
As stated, this refers to the European Commission's commitment to continue negotiations with Ukraine to restore and stabilize its energy infrastructure, as well as to ensure uninterrupted transit of energy through Ukrainian pipelines to the EU. Hungary and Slovakia should be involved in the negotiations.
Hungary, in particular, agreed to support the extension of sanctions on Monday if the European Commission provides appropriate guarantees for the energy security of EU member states, in particular in the event of a threat from external factors.
Previously
It was reported that the EU is set to agree on the extension of sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine on Monday, and Hungary is ready to end its resistance to this step
Budapest has been postponing the decision since December, when Prime Minister Viktor Orban told EU leaders that he wanted to wait until after Donald Trump's inauguration before deciding whether to agree to extend the restrictions. EU sanctions must be renewed every six months, and while this is usually a routine decision, it requires the support of all member states.
Trump made it clear that he could increase sanctions against Russia if Vladimir Putin does not come to the negotiating table to discuss how to end the war. However, the Hungarian prime minister later linked the sanctions discussion to his country's energy security and called on the EU to put pressure on Ukraine to resume the transit of Russian gas to Europe. The EU has approved 15 sanctions packages since February 2022.