No EU agreement on new sanctions against Russia. Hungary conditions support on oil supplies

Hungarian diplomacy has officially announced the blocking of the adoption process for the twentieth sanctions package of the European Union against the regime in Moscow. The government in Budapest has also halted preparations for launching a financial loan intended for the defense of the attacked Ukrainian state. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó uncompromisingly stated that Hungarian resistance will remain in force until the authorities in Kyiv demonstrate the absolute resumption of smooth transit of Russian crude oil through the pipeline infrastructure. Representatives of the Hungarian cabinet firmly reject accusations of political favoritism towards the Kremlin, calling pressure from EU officials blatant blackmail and explaining their own position as a defense of strategic national interests. The Central European oil pipeline system was built during the Cold War to connect Soviet fields with refineries in Eastern Bloc states. Currently, Hungary and Slovakia, under negotiated rotational exemptions from the 2022 European embargo, still cover a huge part of their raw material needs using this controversial export route. The threat of vetoing the regulations has caused deep political outrage in European capitals. The President of France called for maintaining political unity, urging member states to consistently push through previously approved resolutions, regardless of the skepticism of resistant states. „Nous continuerons d'augmenter la pression sur la Russie” (We will continue to increase pressure on Russia) — Emmanuel Macron The head of the Polish Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, assessed these threats as exceptionally scandalous, though he rationally conceded that successive diplomatic barriers raised along the Danube have ceased to cause real surprise. Categorical opposition to Budapest's rhetoric was also expressed by authorities in Rome, where Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani considered the allies' course of action a phenomenon destructive to community cohesion. 20 — economic sanctions packages have been negotiated so far by the European Union The highest level of political tension was recorded in Germany, where representatives of the Christian Democratic opposition called for a firm abandonment of tolerance for Hungary's interest-driven game. CDU politician Johann Wadephul called for an unconditional correction of course, accusing decision-makers of the Hungarian administration of blatant disloyalty to the alliance, while federal government diplomacy still tries to seek a backstage diplomatic compromise at the ministerial level. The Ukrainian side refutes accusations of deliberate action targeting Hungarian consumers, explaining reductions in transmission as being due to war losses and network repairs following a Russian attack on January 27, 2026, although Budapest accuses Kyiv of deliberately halting technical work. Resolving infrastructure conflicts under conditions of an open front seems today one of the most serious paralyzing integration challenges for the Old Continent.