The EU is waiting for January for a new round of sanctions against Russia: Politico explains the reason
Date: 2024-10-21 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: ECONOMY
EU countries plan to resume discussions on new sanctions against the Russian economy in January. As Politico explains, this is when Hungary, Moscow's closest ally in the EU, will end its presidency of the EU, and Poland, one of Ukraine's strongest supporters, will take its place.
"Warsaw has already made it clear that it wants to use its six-month presidency to tighten measures against Russian fuel flowing to the continent, which remains one of the Kremlin's most important sources of income," the publication writes.
According to diplomats and officials, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has used his country's presidency to all but stop talking about sanctions. Now EU member states are hoping for Poland to step up the issue.
"A harsh winter is coming to Ukraine, but so is the end of the disastrous Hungarian presidency. We hope that all the issues that have been held hostage by the unconstructive blockade of Hungary will be resolved with the necessary urgency," said one EU diplomat.
But for the new package to take effect, the European Commission must first propose it to the bloc's 27 member states.
"First of all, we need a proposal from the Commission," said another EU diplomat. "We cannot blame Hungary if we have nothing to talk about."
The Poles also want to use their presidency to push for greater transparency on how much Russian gas is flowing into the EU - possibly even under false pretenses. A document seen by POLITICO calls for stricter checks on the origin of gas entering the bloc to ensure its traceability.
The proposal is likely to be considered by the Polish president in January, the newspaper notes.
At the same time, any new sanctions would also have to overcome Hungarian opposition, even if Budapest no longer holds the EU presidency.
