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Hungary still blocks expansion of sanctions on Russia
BRUSSELS, Oct. 9 () –
The Twenty-Seven agreed this Wednesday to contribute up to 35 billion euros to the loan of 50 billion dollars (46.5 billion euros) for Ukraine agreed by the G7 partners and which will be financed with the interests of Russian assets frozen by sanctions to contribute to the recovery of the country.
The package agreed at the level of ambassadors, which must still be endorsed by ministers and the European Parliament, includes an exceptional macro-financial assistance loan of up to 35 billion euros – the amount of which may be reduced once the rest of the contributions are known – and a cooperation mechanism that will help Ukraine repay up to €45 billion provided by the EU and G7 partners.
However, Hungary is still blocking the change to extend the period of application of the sanctions from six to 36 months, which keep the assets of the Central Bank of Russia frozen.
The proposal to extend the validity of the sanctions that keep Russian assets frozen responds to the added difficulty that their semiannual renewal entails, since their approval is subject to the unanimity of the Council, which worries some member states about the possibility of countries like Hungary to block the agreement and unfreeze assets, which would cut off the financial flow.
For its part, Hungary, which holds the six-month presidency of the Council, has asked to delay the decision to extend the period of application of the sanctions until November, once the results of the elections in the United States are known.
“We believe that the extension of Russian sanctions should be decided after the elections in the United States because we have to see what direction the administration will take,” explained this Tuesday the Hungarian Minister of Economy, Mihály Varga, for whom “two absolutely different paths: one towards peace and the other towards war”.
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