The European Union was unable to approve the 18th package of sanctions against Russia because the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, vetoed the initiative. This was stated by the President of the European Council, António Costa. According to him, work on the 18th sanctions package will continue, and it is currently at an “advanced stage.” Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the work will be completed “soon.”
At the same time, EU countries at the summit extended the existing sanctions against Russia for another six months, writes Reuters.
Hungary, in turn, blocked the decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's admission to the EU. As reported by TASS, Orbán believes that he “had to do hard work at the EU summit, explaining why he cannot support Ukraine's admission to the community.” Meanwhile, Slovakia, known for its similar position, nevertheless joined the common stance.
Earlier, Viktor Orbán announced that the majority of participants in a consultative referendum held among the country's residents spoke out against supporting Ukraine's accession to the EU.
“2 million 168 thousand of our compatriots voted not to take on the risks of Ukraine's accession to the EU. This is 95% of all valid votes,” wrote Orbán on his Facebook*. Meanwhile, the head of the Hungarian opposition party “Tisa,” Péter Magyar, after the referendum, stated that only 600 thousand residents of the country participated in the voting, and since it was possible to vote not only at polling stations but also remotely, in his opinion, this makes the results questionable.
Despite all attempts by European leaders to pressure Putin's allies with economic and political levers, Orbán and Fico are still managing to block initiatives on Ukraine.
* Meta is recognized in Russia as an “extremist” organization.