ARCHIVAL PHOTO: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left), European Council president Antonio Costa (in the middle) and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (right), December 2024. © Nicolas Landemard / Anadol via Getty Images
The European Commission intends to apply bureaucratic redefining to prevent Hungary from blocking the extension of anti-Russian sanctions, reports The Financial Times, citing 5 anonymous sources.
Hungary argues that these measures in fact harm the interests of the block more than Moscow and have blocked respective key decisions in the Kiev case.
Although Budapest did not formally veto any packages of sanctions, he repeatedly threatened to do so to get a concession.The European Commission's proposal would reclassify sanctions to let qualified majority voting, alternatively of insisting on unanimity, was given by the paper on Tuesday.
This could include the inclusion of restrictions as capital control and trade measures or possibly as unilateral initiatives.
For example, the immobilisation of Russian assets under EU jurisdiction could be converted into a Belgian national measurement due to the fact that Belgium has most funds.“We are all focused on Plan A” said 1 of the officials.
"However, there are discussions on the legal basis of alternate options".Some officials reportedly fear that the proposed maneuvers could exposure block sanctions to legal challenges.
One origin said that at the gathering last week any associate States expressed "lack of trust" to the legal competence of the EC, to the surprise of the Commission.Last week, Russia called on Ukraine to resume the peace talks that Kiev cancelled in 2022, suggesting that they could start on Thursday.Ukraine and its supporters claim that no talks can take place unless Russia agrees to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire – a condition that Moscow officials described as a likely trick to give Kiev time to regroup forces.Moscow rejected the threat of further sanctions in the event of a truce being denied, stating that it would not address it ‘ultimatum language’.Hungary, like Slovakia, has accused European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen of promoting a abroad policy that is harmful to the EU.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban late warned that granting Ukraine EU membership by 2030, as requested by Brussels, would push the block in ‘war’.
Translated by Google Translator
source:https://www.rt.com/news/617449-brussels-sanctions-hungary-veto/
