EU Agrees to Extend Russia Sanctions as Hungary Backs Down

(Bloomberg) -- European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to extend sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine after Hungary lifted its opposition to the move.

Budapest had been stalling the decision since December when Prime Minister Viktor Orban told EU leaders he wanted to wait for Donald Trump’s inauguration before deciding whether to agree to roll over the restrictions. EU sanctions need to be extended every six months and, although it’s usually a routine decision, it requires the backing of all member states.

In return for Budapest backing down, the EU’s executive arm said it would provide several assurances relating to the bloc’s energy security. 

The European Commission said in a statement that it would “continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system” of the war-torn country and that it was willing to associate Hungary and Slovakia in the process.

Trump recently said he could increase sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin doesn’t come to the negotiating table to discuss how to end the fighting. The Hungarian premier then linked the sanctions discussion to his country’s energy security. He also called on the EU to pressure Ukraine to re-establish the transit of gas to Europe after Kyiv last month rejected renewing a contract for the delivery of Russian gas.  

After failing to agree to an extension in several meetings between the bloc’s ambassadors this month, the matter was escalated to the foreign ministers gathering in Brussels on Monday. The bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the agreement on X. 

“EU Foreign Ministers just agreed to extend again the sanctions on Russia,” Kallas wrote. “This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war. Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing.”

The bloc has approved 15 packages of sanctions since February 2022.

Energy Promises

“Hungary has received the energy-security guarantees it has requested,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Monday. 

Russian gas stopped flowing to Europe via Ukraine this month after a long-term transit contract ended on Dec. 31 and Kyiv closed off a route that’s operated for five decades. 

The route has recently accounted for just 5% of Europe’s needs and EU officials have said it does not endanger the bloc’s energy security. Still, countries including Slovakia and Hungary were still taking delivery of significant volumes from Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said over the weekend that Kyiv stands ready to allow gas from Azerbaijan to flow through the country.

The EU is already working in parallel on its next set of sanctions but officials are bracing for more resistance from Budapest. The bloc hopes to approve the measures next month.

Syria Sanctions

Separately, the EU also agreed Monday on a roadmap for easing sanctions against Syria, Kallas said.

“While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,” she wrote in a post on X.

Ministers were considering whether to suspend sanctions on the energy sector, transport and financial institutions, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot specified.

Earlier this month, several EU members including Germany and France called for a staged lifting of restrictions with the option to reimpose them at any time if certain conditions in the political transition in Syria weren’t met, like the inclusion of minorities. 

This could help ensure a peaceful transition of power after the fall of ex-President Bashar Al-Assad and enable displaced people to return home. It would also ease the flow of humanitarian aid and encourage the protection of women and ethnic minorities.

“We need to begin to progress the conversations in relations to status the sanctions in relation to Syria but any changes there would need to have a snapback mechanism,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters Monday. “That is really important to provide the EU with the assurances we require.”

(Updates with Syria sanctions roadmap approval starting in 13th paragraph)

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