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Disagreements over EU sanctions against Russia continue even after Orbán

22 July 2026 11:19 (UTC +04:00)

EU ambassadors will make another attempt today to reach agreement on the bloc's 21st package of sanctions against Russia, Politico reports.

Although Hungary's former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was long regarded as the main obstacle to the adoption of tougher sanctions against Russia, disagreements within the EU have persisted even after his departure from office.

Following the rise to power of Péter Magyar, who replaced Orbán, and with Budapest no longer blocking sanctions, several member states have begun openly defending their objections to tougher measures against Russia.

During discussions on the 21st sanctions package, presented by the European Commission in June, a number of proposed measures affecting the energy, fish processing, banking, and shipping sectors were watered down or removed entirely.

After the adoption of 20 previous sanctions packages, the EU is increasingly confronting the national economic interests of its member states, making it more difficult to reach a compromise.

Greece opposed a proposal to ban the transshipment of Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries via EU companies. Austria, meanwhile, raised the issue of Raiffeisen Bank's assets in Russia.

Following objections from several member states, a proposal to gradually phase out imports of Russian fish was also removed from the package.

In addition, provisions to place Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on the sanctions list and to impose visa restrictions on former Russian military personnel were weakened or removed from the final text after objections from member states.

Nevertheless, if adopted, the package would disconnect dozens of Russian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system and impose EU entry bans on more than 250 individuals.

As the publication notes, the concessions made have failed to meet expectations that Orbán's departure from office would significantly ease efforts to increase economic pressure on Moscow.

"Orbán was a difficult counterpart, but he never blocked entire sanctions packages," an unnamed EU diplomat was quoted as saying in the article.

EU European Union Russia sanctions 21st sanctions package EU ambassadors Politico Hungary Péter Magyar Viktor Orbán SWIFT Russian banks Greece Austria Raiffeisen Bank Russian LNG Russian fish imports Patriarch Kirill Russia-Ukraine war economic sanctions