Hungary ready to support EU sanctions against head of ROC Kirill – media
Kyiv • UNN
Hungary's new government will not obstruct the imposition of restrictions against the head of the ROC and Russian officials. The EU is also preparing sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet.
The new Hungarian government has declared its readiness not to obstruct EU sanctions against the head of the ROC, Kirill, and a number of other individuals who were previously blocked under Viktor Orbán, Euronews reports, according to UNN.
Details
This move could pave the way for the inclusion of the head of the ROC in the EU sanctions lists. According to officials, a so-called "mini-package" of restrictive measures is already being prepared.
Diplomats will discuss this "mini-package" of sanctions this week, which, as indicated, could affect about ten individuals who were previously excluded from the lists at the request of Viktor Orbán's government, as well as several Russian "shadow" tankers.
The EU first attempted to include the religious figure in the sanctions list in 2022, accusing him of supporting the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and spreading revisionist rhetoric. However, Hungary under Orbán blocked this decision, stating that it touched upon issues of freedom of religion.
Brussels expects that Orbán's successor, Péter Magyar, will now not obstruct this decision. He seeks to distance himself from Budapest's practice of regularly using the right of veto.
"Sanctions that would undermine Hungary's economic stability are absolutely unacceptable," Márton Hajdú, a close associate of Magyar and chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Hungarian parliament, told Euronews.
"But in cases where the former government used state powers to conclude private deals, I expect the new government not to block joint EU efforts to increase pressure on Russia to end the war," he noted.
Previously, some Russian citizens were already included in the sanctions lists, but their names were later removed at Orbán's request. Among them are Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev and businessman Vyacheslav Kantor. Now their candidacies may return to the discussion agenda, the publication writes.
"Reviewing sanctions lists is common practice," an EU diplomatic source told Euronews.
Decisions on sanctions are made unanimously, so the list of proposed names may change during negotiations. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has also previously used the veto power to soften or block certain restrictive measures, but at the time of the first attempt to include Patriarch Kirill in the list in 2022, he did not yet hold this office.
"Shadow fleet" under close scrutiny
In parallel, a relatively small sanctions package is being prepared, which may include several vessels from the so-called "shadow fleet" — a network of tankers used by Russia to circumvent Western restrictions on oil exports, the publication points out.
These vessels are accused of sailing under fake flags and using dubious insurance, and, according to some reports, are involved in sabotage activities and may pose a threat to the environment. In recent months, a number of countries, including France, Sweden, and Poland, have conducted inspections of suspicious vessels, demonstrating a tougher approach to stopping sanctions evasion.
The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, called on the EU to act against the "shadow fleet" faster, without waiting for the formation of large sanctions packages.
"We have also decided to act on sanctions against the 'shadow flotilla' on a permanent basis: we do not wait for large packages, but immediately add vessels to the list as soon as we learn about them," she stated last month.
Thus, the EU plans to move to a phased inclusion of vessels and related persons in the sanctions lists, which will be a change from the usual "package" practice.
The first discussion on this proposal is expected on Friday at the level of permanent representatives of EU countries; the goal is to include it on the agenda of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on June 15.
The 21st sanctions package is expected to be presented in June, with its final approval planned by mid-July
Against the backdrop of the changing political situation in Hungary, the EU is discussing the possibility of extending the duration of sanctions from six months to one year — an initiative previously actively opposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who used it as leverage in negotiations.