Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Europe is not backing down: Brussels seeks workaround to prevent Hungary from blocking anti-Russian sanctions
The European Union is actively working on alternative legal mechanisms to maintain pressure on Russia – despite the threat of a veto by Hungary, which could block the extension of key economic sanctions. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing five senior European officials.
The focus is on more than €200bn of frozen Russian assets that can be transferred to a new legal framework, which will allow Budapest’s blockade to be circumvented.
New levers of pressure: from capital to duties
According to sources, the European Commission is discussing such instruments:
- capital controls to limit the flow of cash into Russia;
- imposing duties on Russian exports;
- Restrictions on imports in critical sectors, including energy;
- setting price limits on certain goods.
These measures have one key advantage: they do not require the unanimous consent of all 27 EU countries, which allows Brussels to act independently of Budapest’s position.
Quote from the European Commission:
“We are all focused on Plan A. But there are serious discussions about the legal basis for Plan B,” one official told the FT.
The current sanctions expire at the end of July. Hungary has already announced a possible veto on their extension for another 6 months. This position of Budapest actually threatens the EU’s common sanctions policy.
However, the EU does not intend to back down – while diplomatic efforts continue to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine and force Russia to negotiate peace, economic pressure on Moscow remains a key tool.
