Hungary and Slovakia blocked the European Union’s 18th sanctions package against Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed on 23 June. Despite never supporting Kyiv militarily, Hungary also declared it would no longer support Ukraine militarily or financially, as Budapest continues aligning itself with Moscow’s interests inside the EU.

Budapest obstructs new sanctions package

According to Liga, Szijjártó announced at a press briefing streamed on Facebook:

“We, together with Slovakia, prevented the adoption of the sanctions package today.”

The move came in direct response to the European Commission’s ongoing push to reduce EU dependency on Russian energy.

Szijjártó justified the veto by referencing the EU’s June 2022 decision that had granted Hungary and Slovakia a full exemption from the Russian oil embargo introduced in the sixth sanctions package. Hungary believes that the ban on purchasing cheap Russian gas and oil violates previous agreements.

“The European Union decided unanimously that Hungary and Slovakia would receive a full exemption for an unlimited time from the oil embargo on Russian crude,” he claimed.

Veto used to counter Commission’s energy plan

Hungary cannot directly veto the Commission’s energy strategy, which only needs a qualified majority vote, so it blocked the sanctions package instead. Szijjártó described this majority-voting mechanism as allegedly “a very serious violation of European legal norms.”

He also warned that restricting access to Russian energy now, amid rising instability in the Middle East and threats to the Ormuz Strait, would lead to major losses and a supply crisis in Europe. 

Hungary says ‘no more’ to Ukraine

Szijjártó condemned what he called “increasingly pro-Ukrainian military sentiment” among EU foreign ministers. He noted that the EU has already provided Ukraine with 10 trillion forints—about €25 billion—this year alone.

“But today it was said that even that is not enough,” Orbán’s minister complained.

Hungary, he said, will block any further attempts to support Kyiv:

“We will not allow Hungarian money to be sent to Ukraine. We are not ready to support any new financial aid, any new arms deliveries, or any new military operations.”