The Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán has refused to sign off on a fresh package of European Union sanctions on Russia, delaying agreement on measures intended to pressure Moscow to end its war in Ukraine.
Efforts to persuade Budapest to come on board have so far proved unsuccessful, leaving the sanctions, which require the unanimous agreement of EU member states, unfinalised more than a week since the proposals were unveiled by the European Commission.
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen returned empty-handed from a trip to Budapest in which she met Mr Orbán for discussions “to clarify issues related to sanctions and energy security”.
“We made progress, but further work is needed,” she said on return from her trip late on Monday.
A video conference call with various leaders that was initally planned for Tuesday morning was delayed until more progress could be made by officials on identifying potential tailored solutions for Hungary to help it transition and get the government to drop its opposition.
At the heart of Hungary's opposition is a proposed phase-out of oil imports from Russia. An offer to delay implementation until 2024 for Hungary and Slovakia, and until 2023 for the Czech Republic, was not enough to win Budapest's support.
“The entry into force of the current sanctions package would destroy Hungary’s energy security: it would be impossible to obtain the crude oil needed to operate the Hungarian economy,” Hungarian foreign affairs minister Péter Szijjártó told local media after the meeting with Dr von der Leyen.
“We cannot allow the Hungarian people to be made to pay the price of this war.”
Russian oil imports
There have been reports that Hungary may seek a five-year delay in ending Russian oil imports, and that EU officials are considering offering financial help to the country to convert its energy system to use alternative fuels.
It is widely acknowledged that ending oil imports from Russia is genuinely difficult for Hungary, because it is highly dependent and has few other options as its refineries are designed specifically to process Russia’s type of crude oil, and the country is landlocked, so alternative deliveries may require a pipeline.
However, Budapest’s blockade of sanctions is a realisation of the fears of other EU member states that Mr Orbán would be more assertive and use the country’s veto more freely after winning re-election with an increased vote share last month.
It comes against a background of conflict with the European Commission, which has been under pressure to cut off Hungary’s access to EU funds due to backsliding on the rule of law.
As the stand-off with Hungary continued, another measure was quietly dropped from the sanctions proposals, according to EU sources.
This was a measure to ban EU-flagged ships from being used to deliver Russian oil around the world, which ran into opposition from shipping heavyweight Greece, along with Malta and Cyprus.
The seafaring nations had expressed concerns that EU ships would simply re-register outside the EU, damaging the European shipping business while not meaningfully affecting Russia. They insisted any such measure should be agreed internationally and have the backing of the US to ensure widespread implementation. The issue is set to be taken up in discussions by the G7 group of major economies, The Irish Times understands.
