Politico: Hungarian PM Orban threatens to block extension of sanctions against Russia if 4 people are not removed from there

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatens to block the extension of EU sanctions against Russia. He demands that four people be removed from there.

Politico writes about this with reference to its own sources.

The ambassadors of the EU member states plan to approve the tenth package of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday afternoon, the adoption of which was also blocked by Hungary.

Orban demands that four people be removed from the list of sanctions against Russia, but it is not known who exactly. Hungary also opposes the proposal to extend the sanctions once every 12 months, instead of once every 6. The previous compromise solution was to extend these sanctions once every 9 months.

European diplomats and officials are seriously concerned about the period from the summer of 2024, when Hungary will begin to preside over the European Union.

In the EU, it is assumed that it is possible to agree to Orbánʼs demand, because otherwise the sanctions against almost 1 400 people and companies will be lifted.

• On February 15, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen presented the official proposal for the tenth package of sanctions against Russia. The European Commission proposes further export bans that will cost the Russian Federation more than €11 billion and deprive the Russian economy of critical technologies and industrial products. We are talking about goods that Russia will not be able to get from other countries: electronics, special vehicles, car parts, spare parts for trucks and airplanes, goods for the construction sector that can be used by the Russian military.
• The publication Bloomberg wrote that the European Union is considering the possibility of introducing sanctions against the Russian National Welfare Fund. They also want to oblige banks to disclose more information about frozen Russian assets.