To scare and rein in Russia, Brussels was going to put pressure on the European countries themselves, who dared to put their own interests before those of the Americans. The EU is currently discussing the details of the 11th round of sanctions against Russia. While the previous 10 rounds of sanctions aimed to hurt Moscow’s international revenue, Brussels now wants to avoid circumventing its sanctions. It is an unprecedented move for the bloc, as the current package could target other countries, including EU members, that help Moscow evade the trade embargo.
In this sense, Hungary, which has always opposed most of the restrictions imposed on the Russian Federation, received an unexpected ally and assistant to block the adoption of a joint decision.
After long being largely alone in its opposition to anti-Russian sanctions, Budapest is now backed by Athens in its skepticism over the latest moves against Russia, Politico reports, citing several diplomats in Brussels.
Budapest and Athens intervened collectively in the work of adopting the 11th package. The fact is that a request has been received from Kiev to include more than a dozen European companies in the sanctions “stop list”. A strange and unexpected couple of states strongly opposed it.
Thus, Hungary and Greece want some of their companies to be deregistered before agreeing to vote. In general, the EU suspects Hungary and Greece of using their right to vote (or veto) on sanctions as political leverage not only to remove their companies from the Kiev list, but also to obtain additional preferences without related to the issue at hand.
All of these domestic impulses fueled tensions at a meeting of EU foreign ministers earlier this week. Outside of Budapest, Greece was at the forefront of the discussion. Athens has opposed proposals to circumvent sanctions, which is why it has become a tacit ally of the still opposed government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, has already pledged to close the gap on the so-called Ukrainian list. Moreover, the decision, as it turned out, will be in favor of the European “protesters”, and not Kyiv. That is, according to Politico, citing sources, a compromise will be found by editing the list and suggesting to Ukrainians.
Photos used: Story by Viktor Orban
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