The European Union is heading toward another public impasse over Russia, with diplomats conceding that a new round of sanctions is unlikely to be agreed after Hungary again
refused to back the deal.
Efforts to approve what would be the EU’s 20th package of sanctions against Moscow stalled on Monday, as Budapest made clear it would not shift its position. Speaking after talks among foreign ministers, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said expectations of a breakthrough were low. “We are doing our utmost to get the sanctions package through,” she said, adding that Hungary’s stance left little room for progress.
The timing is awkward for Brussels. The European Union had hoped to finalise the measures by Tuesday, the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That day, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa are due to travel to Kyiv, where EU leaders had hoped to arrive with a united message — and a sanctions deal in hand.
Instead, negotiations among EU ambassadors have dragged on, with disagreements over measures such as a proposed ban on certain maritime services linked to Russia’s energy exports. Any remaining optimism evaporated after Hungary confirmed it would block the package.
Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said Budapest would not support decisions seen as critical for Kyiv until Ukraine restores oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline. The dispute is part of a long-running row over Russian oil supplies, which Hungary argues are vital to its energy security.
Budapest has also threatened to withhold support for a planned €90bn EU loan to Ukraine. While the legal text for the loan is due to be signed on Tuesday, final approval from all member states is still required. The European Commission is aiming to release the first tranche of funding in early April.
Kallas pushed back strongly against linking the issues. “The problems they have are not related to the 20th sanctions package,” she said. “We should not tie together things that are not connected to each other at all.”
Despite the deadlock, several ministers struck a cautiously optimistic tone. Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said Hungary’s objections were familiar and stressed that the underlying problems were “not Ukraine’s fault, but Russia’s.” Cyprus’s foreign minister Constantinos Kombos, who chaired the meeting, said there was still no consensus on what he described as an “ambitious and hard-hitting” package.
France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot downplayed the standoff, arguing that the real question was not whether the sanctions would pass, but when. Others were less diplomatic. Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul said he was astonished by Hungary’s position, while Poland’s foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski called it “shocking,” accusing Budapest of fuelling hostility toward Ukraine for domestic political gain ahead of elections in April.
Those domestic pressures are hard to ignore. Hungary is heading toward a parliamentary election in which prime minister Viktor Orban faces an unusually strong challenge from opposition leader Peter Magyar.
If no deal is reached in the coming days, the failure will be an uncomfortable backdrop for EU leaders gathering in Kyiv to mark the war’s anniversary — and a fresh reminder of how fragile European unity remains when unanimity is required.