Steven N.A joint resolution issued by the European Commission (EC) and the currently French-led Council of Ministers indicates that talks will resume early in the week on reaching a complete agreement on new sanctions against Russia as soon as possible.
According to the statement, in recent days the EC has advanced revised proposals that have been intensively negotiated between Brussels and Member State governments, “and very good progress has been made on most of the measures.” The resolution emphasizes that guarantees to maintain energy supply to Member States heavily dependent on Russian oil will soon be finalized.
Among the 27 countries of the EU, Hungary is the strongest opponent of the proposed oil embargo, which Viktor Orbán called an “economic atomic bomb.”
Despite the Hungarian Prime Minister’s strong wording, the mood in Brussels is optimistic. Officials quoted in the international press claim that only another day or day and a half are needed to reach a full agreement. [Népszava]
