Key events
Luxembourg’s foreign minister Xavier Bettel said that Hungarians were transactional in their way of working at the EU level, saying “we usually have to find the chequebook or … [some other] agreement with them.”
“It’s a bit like [being on] a market with them: they block, and if they get what they want, they agree.”
But he says it’s been problematic for years and is “not fair” for other member states, and hopes that a resolution could be found soon.
20th package of sanctions only matter of time, French minister insists
In turn, France’s Jean-Noël Barrot insisted it was a matter of when, not if, the 20th package of sanctions against Russia will be adopted, which he said would further deprive Russia’s Putin of capacity to pursue his “colonial fantasies” in Ukraine.
‘We cannot proceed like this,’ Lithuania’s Budrys expresses frustration with Hungary
Lithuania’s foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys said he was “very frustrated” with the Hungarian block.
“We have to move forward, and I’m really upset and frustrated that one of the countries is blocking it for the reasons that are internal or external, I don’t know, but they are not based in European needs,” he told reporters.
“I really expect that we can have the open and honest discussion, looking each other to the eyes and answering these questions: what we are doing here, what we are disrupting; is it only about Ukraine, or is it about us remaining 27 in the European Union?”
He added:
“We cannot proceed like this. We cannot give away those carrots each time and expect that, oh, there will be one country that will block so what we will [give] to them. It cannot work like this. European Union was designed in different way. …
We have one constant [source of] disruption, [and] I have the question whether we should review the decision making process. That’s one option. The other option is to also to invoke the article seven and just stop this exploitation of the principle of unanimity. It is really damaging and dangerous.”
Failure to adopt sanctions would make Russia ‘happy,’ Estonian foreign minister says
Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul also said he was “astonished” by the Hungarian position on sanctions, and hoped to discuss this during today’s meeting of EU foreign ministers.
But Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna was more blunt saying that the failure to adopt the new sanctions would only benefit Russia.
“If we are not able to put the sanctions on Russia, then Russia will be happy,” he said.
Hungarian government seeks to create, exploit anti-Ukrainian hostility in election campaign, Poland’s Sikorski says
Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has sharply criticised Hungary for blocking the 20th package of sanctions, saying it was “shocking” that with their history of fighting against Soviet aggression in the 20th century, the leaders in Budapest choose to attack Ukraine for domestic gains.
“I would have expected a much greater feeling of solidarity from Hungary for Ukraine. Instead, with the help of state propaganda and private but controlled by the government media, the ruling party managed to create a climate of hostility towards the victim of aggression, and … now is trying to exploit that in the general election,” he said.
Morning opening: New Russia sanctions on hold
Jakub Krupa
The European Union is increasingly unlikely to reach an agreement on the new, 20th package of sanctions against Russia ahead of tomorrow’s fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Hungary continues to block the package.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas admitted this morning that “there is not going to be progress” on this issue today, as Budapest continues to block the adoption of the sanctions.
“We are doing our utmost to have the sanctions package … through … and we are looking for ways how we can do it. But as we have heard some very strong statements from Hungary, … I don’t really … see they are going to change this unfortunately today,” she said.
Hungary opposes the proposed measures – as well as the payment of the €90bn loan for Ukraine – as part of its escalating dispute with Ukraine about oil transit using the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday that “until Ukraine resumes oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, we will not allow decisions important to Kyiv to move forward.”
It also comes just six weeks before the key parliamentary election in the country, which could see its pro-Russian prime minister Viktor Orbán ousted after 16 years in power.
The embattled leader – currently trailing 10 points behind the opposition leader, Tisza’s Péter Magyar – increasingly turns to anti-Ukrainian rhetoric to falsely allege a conspiracy between Kyiv and Brussels to remove him from office and talk about the risk of war expanding to Hungary.
The failure to agree on the new package of sanctions would be politically embarrasing for the bloc as its leaders, including the commission president Ursula von der Leyen, plan to travel to Kyiv on Tuesday to mark the anniversary.
I will bring you all the key lines from Brussels here, as well as other stories from across Europe, as we expect Rob Jetten to be sworn in as the new Dutch prime minister, Finland’s Alexander Stubb to meet France’s Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and hear from the European Parliament on the future of the EU-US trade deal.
It’s Monday, 23 February 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
