Brussels is eyeing the move now that Viktor Orbán is out of office, as Hungary’s former prime minister had consistently blocked any such extension, and used the process to his own gain.
Several diplomats from Northern European countries raised the prospect of an extension in last week’s meeting, three of the diplomats said. EU capitals will continue discussions this week and next, ahead of the next General Affairs Council on May 26.
Sanctions require unanimous support from the EU bloc, meaning that a single veto would undo the existing 20 packages of measures designed to cripple the Russian war economy and squeeze the Kremlin’s supporters.
Over the past four years, diplomats tasked with negotiating the sanctions have had to stare down that risk every six months, knowing that such an unraveling would have disastrous consequences — both politically and on Ukraine’s eastern front.
The high stakes served as useful leverage for Orbán, who left public office after his 16 years of rule ended in crushing defeat in last month’s Hungarian national election.
Orbán has had multiple run-ins with Brussels and his European peers, often using his veto to stymie political deals and foreign policy. Prior to his election loss in April, he stalled a €90 billion loan to finance the defense of a cash-strapped Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of delaying repairs to a pipeline transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. The veto was lifted soon after Péter Magyar became Hungary’s new prime minister.