Euronews: Hungary will agree to EU sanctions against Patriarch Kirill, which were blocked by former Prime Minister Viktor Orban
- Author:
- Olha Bereziuk
- Date:
European Union ambassadors are discussing a "mini-package" of sanctions against a dozen people previously protected by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, including Russian Patriarch Kirill.
Euronews writes about this.
The EU first tried to put Kirill on the sanctions list in 2022, accusing him of supporting full-scale violence and spreading propaganda. But Hungary under Orbán blocked the move, calling it a religious freedom issue.
Brussels hopes that Orbanʼs successor Peter Magyar will approve the decision. Magyar is keen to distance himself from Orbanʼs notorious use of veto power.
"Sanctions that could undermine Hungaryʼs economic stability are absolutely unacceptable. However, in cases where the previous government used the powers of the Hungarian state to make private deals, I expect the new government will not hinder the EUʼs joint efforts to increase pressure on Russia to end this war," a close ally of Magyar who heads the Hungarian parliamentʼs Foreign Affairs Committee Marton Hajdu, told Euronews.
In addition, some Russians were initially included in the sanctions list but later removed at the insistence of Viktor Orbán. In particular, these are Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev and oligarch Vyacheslav Kantor. Now they may be returned to the list.
"Reviewing the list of names is not something unusual," a source in EU diplomatic circles told Euronews.
Sanctions are adopted unanimously, and the list of proposed individuals can change during negotiations. Euronews notes that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has also used the veto to protect individual Russians, was not in office when the EU tried to put Patriarch Kirill on the sanctions list in 2022.
- In November 2023, SBU declared the suspicion to Patriarch Kirill. According to the investigation, he blessed the occupiers to kill Ukrainians and publicly supported the war.
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