EU prolongs its Russia sanctions for 6 months after Hungary lifts its objections The European Union agreed a 6-month extension Monday for a raft of sanctions aimed at depriving Russia of funds to finance its war against Ukraine after Hungary lifted its objections to the move.
But already last week EU diplomats and officials expected Hungary to end its threatened blockade on the measures after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine.
To satisfy Orbán's demand, the European Commission attached a statement to Monday’s sanctions rollover agreement, saying that it “expects all third countries to respect” EU energy security, and warned that it could take action to protect critical infrastructure like oil and gas pipelines.
“Hungary has received the guarantees it has requested concerning the energy security of our country,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in a statement.
On Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called on the EU to intervene in a gas dispute that his country has with Ukraine.
