Hungary has been accused of “holding the EU hostage” over its refusal to agree an oil embargo against Russia, as the bloc struggles to reach consensus on its latest sanctions aimed at eroding the Kremlin’s ability to wage war.
Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said: “Unfortunately the whole union is being held hostage by one member state.” He was referring to Hungary, which continues to block the oil embargo, despite being offered an extension on phasing out Russian crude until the end of 2024.
“Everybody expected this will be enough,” Landsbergis told reporters, reflecting the widespread view that Budapest would fall into line if it got more time to convert its energy system to accommodate non-Russian oil.
Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said on Monday that his country would not block EU sanctions against Russia as long as they posed no risk to Hungary’s energy security.
In a combative speech after being sworn in for a fourth straight term, he blamed EU sanctions as partly responsible for high energy prices. “Every day Brussels abuses its power and tries to impose things on us that we do not want,” he said.
The remarks were a sharp rebuff to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who tweeted a message of congratulations to the man who is now Europe’s longest-serving leader. “I look forward to working together,” she wrote in a short message the avoided any hint of the long-running conflict between Brussels and Budapest over the rule of law.
The Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, said it would cost between €15bn and €18bn (£12.75bn and £15.3bn) for the “complete modernisation of the Hungarian energy infrastructure” to phase out Russian oil, and called on the EU to come up with a plan. “It is legitimate” for Hungary to expect a proposal from the European Commission, he said.
Hungary, which is nearly completely dependent on Russian oil, is holding up an EU-wide embargo that requires unanimity from the 27 member states.
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday had been unable to break the deadlock, because “we have the same difficulties about unanimity”. Ministers did, however, agreed on a further €500m in EU-funded military aid for Ukraine, taking the total pledged since the start of the war to €2bn. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Borrell said, because EU member states provided much more funding for weapons outside EU programmes.
Other EU member states voiced impatience with the delay. “We need to get on and do this,” Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said. “This is about a deterrent to the continuation of war. The sooner the EU can finalise that sixth sanctions package the better.”
Johanna Sumuvuori, Finland’s junior foreign minister, who said she would update her counterparts on Helsinki’s bid to join Nato, said on the oil ban: “It’s very important to do our utmost, so that we can make a strong statement as an EU.”
The EU has been unable to agree to its sixth package of sanctions against Russia – which includes asset freezes and travel bans on prominent Vladimir Putin supporters – 12 days after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, outlined plans for a Russian oil embargo to come into force at the end of 2022.
Since the proposals, EU officials have made a series of concessions. A plan to ban EU ships from transporting Russian oil was dropped, after opposition from Greece and Cyprus, which worried their industries would lose out to competitors.
Meanwhile, landlocked countries that are heavily dependent on Russian oil were offered a delay in joining the EU embargo. Hungary and Slovakia were given until the end of 2024, while the Czech Republic has been offered a June 2024 deadline. While Slovakia and the Czech Republic appear ready to sign off the sanctions, Budapest continues to hold out on the oil embargo, which the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has likened to an atomic bomb hitting his country’s economy.
Hungary says it needs five years and hundreds of billions of forints to convert its Százhalombatta refinery near Budapest, which can take only Russian oil. Hungarian officials also say Croatia must boost its capacity to ensure access to alternative supplies.
Von der Leyen announced last week that she planned a video conference with Hungary and other countries in the region to work out how to rework Hungary’s oil supply. No details have been announced since Von der Leyen made that statement.
EU foreign ministers, who are meeting in Brussels for talks with Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, were never expected to produce a breakthrough on the sanctions hold-up.
The 27 ministers are also meeting their Canadian counterpart, Mélanie Joly, who called for Finland and Sweden’s speedy accession to Nato.
