FM: Hungary would hurt EU taxpayers by lifting Russia sanctions
Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) told the Financial Times newspaper that EU taxpayers will be left to pay for support for Ukraine if Hungary's Viktor Orban forces the bloc to lift restrictions on frozen Russian assets.
Orban has tried to halt the EU's aid for Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion.
The paper wrote that EU officials expect the Hungarian president to "adopt an even more truculent approach" in upcoming discussions to continue sanctions on Russia, which expire in July. All 27 members need to agree.
Last year, the EU and G7 used profits from approximately €260bn of frozen assets worldwide to underpin a €50bn loan to Ukraine, the FT said.
If the assets are unfrozen, the EU and the US would each be liable for €20bn of the loan, while the rest would fall on other G7 members.
"The problem [is] that these assets which are guaranteeing this loan will be gone," Tsahkna said, referring to a scenario where EU sanctions lapse.
"If they [Hungary] are going to block it, then the sanctions will be down. And the central bank assets will be delivered to Russia, to [Vladimir] Putin, as an award," Tsahkna told the Financial Times. "We cannot let it happen."
Estonia is advocating for the EU and G7 to seize Russia's frozen assets.
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Editor: Helen Wright
