Source: Hungary not blocking 17th EU sanctions package against Russia, approval expected in May

Hungary is not opposing the adoption of the European Union’s 17th sanctions package against Russia and it could be officially approved as early as May 2025.

Several EU diplomats in Brussels told European Pravda anonymously that the absence of veto threats from Hungary would allow for the swift adoption of the 17th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, possibly within May 2025.

A diplomat from one of the EU’s key member states told a European Pravda correspondent that at the Coreper (EU Committee of Permanent Representatives) meeting on 6 May, the European Commission had presented a draft of the 17th sanctions package against Russia. The discussion, as the diplomat noted, had been fairly constructive, and it appeared that Hungary was not opposing the package.

The diplomat explained Hungary’s neutral stance by noting that the package "mainly concerns legal entities that are not problematic for them".

Two other EU diplomats confirmed to European Pravda that Hungary did not object to the 17th sanctions package during the 6 May Coreper meeting.

One of the sources remarked that Hungary’s current position did not necessarily mean it would act the same way when the sanctions were up for renewal in July, adding that this would be a different story.

The diplomat also said that all EU member states were currently analysing the 17th sanctions package in more detail, but they did not expect any major difficulties in its adoption, since it was a relatively consensus-based package without particularly controversial elements.

In response to a question about whether the sanctions package could be announced during the planned visit of EU foreign ministers to Lviv on 9 May, the diplomat said that the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs (Kaja Kallas – ed.) may announce the package is in preparation, but it will likely be formally approved on 20 May at the next official meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

The diplomat added that the European Commission’s presentation of the package the day before had been its first and that its discussion was already scheduled for the Coreper meeting on 14 May.

On 6 May, EU representatives began discussing the 17th sanctions package against Russia, which focuses on Moscow’s military-industrial complex and so-called shadow fleet.

Some reports indicated the European Commission’s proposal includes a list of 15 legal and natural persons linked to Russia’s hybrid threats, as well as individuals suspected of using chemical weapons in Ukraine.