Lack of EU agreement on new sanctions against Russia. Hungary conditions support on oil supplies

Hungarian diplomacy has officially announced it will block the process of adopting 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 oil through the transmission 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 the defense of strategic national interests. The Central European oil transmission system was built during the Cold War to connect Soviet deposits with refineries in Eastern Bloc countries. Currently, Hungary and Slovakia, under negotiated rotational exemptions from the European embargo of 2022, still cover a huge part of their raw material demand 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 countries. „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 diplomacy ministry, Radosław Sikorski, assessed these threats as exceptionally scandalous, though he rationally admitted that further 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 firmly abandoning tolerance for Hungary's game of interests. 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 behind-the-scenes diplomatic compromise at the ministerial level. The Ukrainian side refutes accusations of deliberate action targeting Hungarian consumers, explaining reductions in transmission solely by war losses and numerous forced repairs to the operational network caused by pinpoint strikes from the east. Resolving infrastructure conflicts under conditions of an open front seems today one of the most serious paralyzing integration challenges of the Old Continent.