Hungary asks to wait for the US elections to unblock the 35 billion loan to Ukraine

This Tuesday, Hungary called on the rest of the member states to delay the decision to extend the renewal period of Russian sanctions to 36 months, necessary to finance a loan of up to 35 billion euros to Ukraine and which will be financed with the interest of Russian assets frozen.

This loan of up to 35 billion euros is the EU’s commitment to contribute to the loan of 50 billion dollars (46.5 billion euros) for Ukraine agreed within the framework of the G7 summit, although its amount may be reduced once it is known. the contributions of the rest of the partners.

The proposal to extend the validity of sanctions against Russia from six months to 3 years responds to the added difficulty involved in the semi-annual renewal of the sanctions package that keeps Russian assets immobilized, since its approval is subject to the unanimity of the Council. which worries some member states about the possibility of countries like Hungary blocking the agreement and unfreezing assets.

It remains to be seen if the capitals support the proposal, which will be debated this Wednesday at the level of ambassadors, and which the Twenty-seven must approve unanimously, for which there is “consensus minus one”, as indicated this Tuesday by the Minister of Economy, Commerce and Empresa, Carlos Cuerpo, since all countries have been “in favor of extending the sanctions regime” with the sole exception of Hungary.

The European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, has expressed himself in similar terms, speaking of “almost unanimous” support: “This means that, in general, all the interventions advocated changing the sanctions regime, and the reason why that they have mentioned it has not only been political, but also as a precondition for equal participation with the United States in this operation.

“We believe that the extension of Russian sanctions should be decided after the elections in the United States because we have to see what direction the administration will take,” said the Hungarian Minister of Economy, Mihály Varga, for whom “two paths” can emerge from the elections. absolutely different: one towards peace and the other towards war”.