Hungary and Slovakia oppose renewal of sanctions against Russia

2026-03-11 22:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hungary and Slovakia are opposing a renewal of sanctions by the European Union on more than 2,700 individuals and entities in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Under EU rules, the sanctions must be extended every six months by unanimity. A first attempt to extend the individual restrictions on Wednesday afternoon during a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels failed to reach a conclusion. Hungary and Slovakia opposed the decision after their requests to remove a small number of individuals from the sanctions list were rejected, according to Euronews.

The Slovak request, which included businessmen Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov, proved particularly controversial in the hall, as the talks ended without a resolution.

If the sanctions are not renewed before March 15, all names on the blacklist, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, will be automatically released. Oligarchs, propagandists and military companies will regain access to millions of funds held across EU territory.

This is not the first time Brussels has been in a race against time. In March last year, Hungary lifted its veto on the renewal of individual sanctions less than 48 hours before the deadline. A similar scenario unfolded six months later.

This time, however, there is a new element: the Druzhba pipeline. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of deliberately keeping the pipeline closed for “political reasons.” Both insist that the pipeline is operational.

Zelenskyy counters, saying the infrastructure was severely damaged by a Russian drone strike on January 27 and needs to be repaired, which could take up to a month and a half due to dangerous ground conditions.

The dispute, which escalated dramatically last week, has led Orban to block a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine that EU leaders agreed to in December. Fico has said he could veto it if Orbán's party loses the April 12 general election.

The European Commission has urged Kiev to speed up repairs and Budapest to release the loan. In addition, Hungary and Slovakia are preventing the adoption of a new round of economic sanctions against Russia, which were about to come into force before the Druzhba dispute erupted. The package includes a complete ban on maritime services for Russian oil tankers. In an attempt to break the deadlock, the Commission is considering providing financial assistance to repair the Druzhba pipeline. /CNA