Oil Sanctions, Hungarian Headaches, and the EU’s Quiet Power Play

Oil Sanctions, Hungarian Headaches, and the EU’s Quiet Power Play | OilPrice.com

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Breaking News:

ByJulianne Geiger– Apr 15, 2025, 10:15 AM CDT

With the next round of EU sanctions on Russia due for renewal in July, Brussels is cooking up a workaround to one persistent problem: Hungary. Specifically, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who’s been repeatedly threatening to walk unless he gets what he wants.

Traditionally, renewing sanctions requires unanimous support from all 27 EU member states. That’s been increasingly awkward, thanks to Orbán’s not-so-secret bromance with Vladimir Putin and his tendency to use sanction votes as leverage for unrelated goodies. So now, the European Commission is exploring a new trick: reclassify the sanctions as trade measures, which only need a qualified majority.

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Translation: Hungary can sulk in the corner while the rest of the bloc gets on with it.

Oil, of course, remains the big-ticket item. EU sanctions have already helped slash Russian Baltic oil shipments by about 10% in recent months. The import bans, alongside tech and aluminum restrictions, have been central to curbing Moscow’s war machine. Hungary, meanwhile, keeps playing defense for Rosneft and friends—until someone quietly promises it more favorable energy terms. Then, like magic, the objections fade.

The Commission’s sleight of hand could be crucial. If they succeed, they can roll through the next sanctions renewal without Orbán holding the process hostage—potentially preserving the bloc’s oil leverage at a time when Russian revenues are still surprisingly resilient.

Most EU countries have begun developing alternative sources of gas, although some—notably Slovakia and Hungary—have said this would drive up costs prohibitively.

With Trump back in the White House, the EU may need every procedural tool it can muster to keep the pressure on Moscow without fracturing internally.

So the EU might be done tiptoeing around Hungary’s veto power, and that just maybe will keep Russian oil boxed out of European markets.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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