The European Union (EU) today failed to adopt the 20th package of sanctions against Russia that was intended to be imposed on the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
Hungary blocked the decision.
"Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement on the 20th package of sanctions. This is a step backwards and a message that we did not want to send today. Everyone understands that diplomacy is a desirable means, but after a year of talks we still do not have a ceasefire. It is not Ukraine that is an obstacle to peace, but Russia," said European foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas at the end of the ministerial meeting, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reports.
The adoption of the latest package of sanctions against Russia was not even certain because the ambassadors of EU member states failed to reach an agreement over the weekend.
The EU wanted the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions in response to Russian aggression against Ukraine to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the start of the war, which falls on February 24th.
European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa will be in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, for the anniversary.
RFE/RL reports that, according to diplomatic sources, the stumbling block is a proposal to completely ban maritime services for Russian oil tankers, which, if adopted, would lift the price cap that the Group of Seven established at the end of 2022.
Hungary poses a particular problem because the adoption of sanctions is conditional on Ukraine repairing the Druzhba oil pipeline, damaged in the Russian attack, and continuing oil supplies to Hungary.
The blocking of the sanctions package has already been announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.
Hungary also blocked a 90 billion euro loan approved by the EU precisely because of problems with oil deliveries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced last weekend that no EU loans could be granted to Ukraine and no sanctions would be adopted until oil supplies to Hungary resumed.
Although the EU has imposed a ban on Russian oil imports via pipelines due to the war in Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia have secured exemptions from those sanctions by using the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian oil to central Europe via Ukraine.
However, deliveries from this pipeline were suspended on January 27. Kiev has alleged that a Russian drone was responsible for the damage to the energy infrastructure.
Both Hungary and Slovakia have blamed Ukraine for the slow resumption of oil flows, and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico even accused Kiev of doing so to pressure Hungary to drop its veto on Ukraine's future EU membership.
The two countries also said on February 18 that they were halting diesel exports to Ukraine until the oil flow was restored.
The EC has meanwhile contacted Kiev regarding the situation and Hungary has officially asked Croatia to pump Russian oil instead, using its pipeline network.
Croatia has announced that it will comply with the request provided that it is compatible with EU and United States (US) sanctions laws.
Fico: If the Ukrainian side turns to Slovakia with a request for assistance in stabilizing the Ukrainian energy network, it will not receive such assistance
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said his country's electricity grid operator would refuse all Ukrainian requests for emergency electricity supplies from Monday until oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline are restored, further escalating a dispute over crude oil, Reuters reports.
Russian oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary have been suspended since January 27, when, according to Ukraine, a Russian drone attack hit oil pipeline equipment in western Ukraine.
Ukraine claims to be repairing damage to the pipeline, which continues to transport Russian oil through Ukrainian territory to Europe, as quickly as possible.
Slovakia and Hungary – both NATO members that have the only two refineries in the EU that still rely on oil via the Druzhba – are accusing Ukraine of the long-running disruption, in one of the sharpest disputes yet between Ukraine and its two neighbors.
"From today, if the Ukrainian side turns to Slovakia with a request for assistance in stabilizing the Ukrainian energy network, it will not receive such assistance," Fico said in a statement.
Fico added that the measure will be lifted after oil transit to Slovakia resumes.
"This is the first reciprocal step that the Slovak government is authorized to take without violating any international rules and obligations," Fico said.
"If the Ukrainian side continues to harm Slovakia's interests in the supply of strategic raw materials, the Slovak government will also reconsider its previous constructive position on Ukraine's EU membership and prepare additional measures."
As reported by Reuters, Hungary and Slovakia accounted for 68 percent of Ukraine's total electricity imports this month, according to data from Kiev-based consultancy ExPro.
It was not immediately clear whether emergency deliveries were included in that figure.
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Cost: Orban to honor EU deal on 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine
European Council President Antonio Costa urged Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday to honour an EU deal on a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine, after Budapest said it would block the plan until Russian oil flows again through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine.
"When leaders reach a consensus, they are bound by their decision. Any breach of that obligation constitutes a violation of the principle of loyal cooperation," said Košta, who chairs EU leaders' summits, in a letter to Orban seen by Reuters.
"No member state can be allowed to undermine the credibility of decisions taken collectively by the European Council," Košta wrote, referring to the loan approved by EU leaders at a summit in December.
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