EU, US Discuss 19th Sanctions Package on Russia

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a "good conversation" with US President Donald Trump about working together to increase economic pressure on Russia through additional measures. The President of the European Commission wrote about this on the social platform X. "The Commission will soon present its 19th sanctions package, which will target cryptocurrencies, banks, and energy," von der Leyen added.

She noted that the European Commission "will propose to accelerate the phase-out of Russian fuel imports." According to the established procedure, the European Commission's proposals on sanctions are submitted to the EU member states for discussion and approval. The approval of a sanctions package requires the consent of all EU member states.

One of the main obstacles in this matter is the position of Hungary, which has a significant dependence on energy imports from Russia. Hungary has stated that the US treats the import of Russian energy with more understanding than the EU.

The US is calling on Europe to completely stop importing Russian energy before supporting further sanctions against Moscow, but, as EU Affairs Minister János Bóka has stated, unlike the EU, Washington recognizes the "special landlocked position of Hungary and Slovakia," writes Euractiv.

He added that Budapest maintains "direct contact" with Washington on this issue, "not through the press." The Americans "treat it with more understanding than our European partners."

Also taking all this into account, many experts are not sure whether the next package of EU sanctions will be quickly agreed upon, and even if it is agreed upon, it will not have the expected effect, as Russia already has immunity to sanctions and also experience in circumventing them.