8th Package of EU Sanctions on Russia Endorsed

European Union Member States, including Hungary, have voted in favor of the next package of sanctions against Russia this week. The package includes a ban on imports of more Russian products, an extension of the list of persons subject to travel bans and asset freezes, and a price cap on oil shipments from Russia to a third country by an EU or G7 freight forwarder.

The approval of the eighth package of sanctions is the EU's strong response to Russia's announcement of the illegal annexation of four regions of Ukraine, the ‘People's Republics’ of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the Member States' agreement: "we have moved quickly and decisively. We will never accept Putin's sham referendum nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine. We are determined to continue making the Kremlin pay.”

The European Union bans exports to Russia of aerospace products, certain electronic equipment and certain chemicals, imports of many Russian products, the provision of services to Russian companies and authorities, and bans EU citizens from serving on the boards of Russian state-owned companies. The package also sets a cap on the price of Russian oil and will therefore also affect the budget revenue they can raise.

According to the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, the oil price cap mechanism will be exempted from the pipeline transport mode, "thus, the measures will no longer jeopardize Hungary's security of oil supply."

In its analysis, portfolio.hu notes that this support from the Hungarian government comes on the back of a national consultation by the government in Hungary, which is also based on the false claim that the EU has imposed sanctions on Russian gas. As we pointed out earlier, with the June decision, the EU imposed an import ban on Russian oil by sea, with the crude oil leg coming into force in December and the refined products leg in February next year (Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been exempted from these). These measures will directly reduce Russian budget revenues significantly.

In recent weeks, several Hungarian government members and officials have claimed that they believe the EU sanctions – all of which the Hungarian government has voted for so far – are not working and that Europe is weakening itself, not Russia.