Gasan Ramazanov on leverage against Hungary
Gasan Ramazanov, expert at the Gaidar Institute, told Vzglyad.ru whether the EU can have an impact on Hungary because of the country's position on the extension of anti-Russian sanctions.
According to the website, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged the EU to protect the interests of the association's member states over Ukraine. He said that Kiev should resume transiting Russian gas to the EU and stop attacking the Turkish Stream pipeline because the actions of Zelenskyy's office threaten energy security of Central and Eastern Europe. “This is not good that we support sanctions that help Ukraine, while they deceive us” he noted.
“Vzglyad.ru” recalled that every six months the EU extends sanctions against Russia. The next voting will be held on this matter on January 31, and approval of the previously adopted measures requires the unanimous support of all 27 member countries of the organization.
However, as Ramazanov noted, the EU has strong levers of pressure on Hungary. For example, when agreeing on financial aid to Ukraine for four years in the amount of €50 bn, Budapest was warned that Hungary would be deprived of the voting right according to Article 7 of the European Union Treaty.
Sunday, 26.01.2025