Hungary and Slovakia have blocked the adoption of a new EU anti‑Russian sanctions package

Hungary and Slovakia have blocked the European Union’s adoption of the 18th package of sanctions against Russia.

This was announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó during a press briefing.

A meeting of the EU’s Committee of Permanent Representatives is currently underway in Brussels to discuss the new sanctions package. According to Szijjártó, Budapest and Bratislava decided to block the new round of restrictions in response to Brussels’ plans for a gradual phase-out of Russian energy imports.

“Today, together with Slovakia, we prevented the adoption of the 18th sanctions package. We did this because, under this proposal, EU countries — including Hungary and Slovakia — would be prohibited from purchasing Russian natural gas and cheap crude oil,” the minister stated.

The proposed 18th sanctions package includes restrictions on Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2. It also proposes lowering the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel. Additionally, 77 vessels from Russia’s so-called “shadow tanker fleet” could fall under sanctions.