With a key deadline set to expire next week, Viktor Orbán and his deputies have raised the spectre of vetoing EU sanctions against Russia, a move which would upend the bloc's foreign policy. #EuropeNe

The economic difficulties facing the Hungarian leader with will further undermine his ability to hijack — let alone drive — the EU’s agenda.

The European Union is facing another potential showdown with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his refusal to sign off on an extension of sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine.

The EU renewed sanctions on Russia and called for unity to respond to Donald Trump's transactional approach. The US president's warning to Moscow to end the war or face more penalties was more in line with EU policy.

The Hungarian premier has repeatedly called for the end of Russian sanctions. One of the E.U.’s closest Trump allies, Orban has backed the U.S. president’s ambition to end the war swiftly, asserting that the new administration was poised to cut off aid to Ukraine.

They include a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU ... On Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called on the EU ...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a key ally of Russia and a good friend of Donald Trump’s, took to X to congratulate the newly

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union agreed a 6-month extension Monday for a raft of sanctions aimed at depriving Russia of funds to finance its war against Ukraine after Hungary lifted its objections to the move.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday that halting Russian gas flows via Ukraine and the resulting rise in costs as users seek

Serbia, Slovakia and Poland's call for a permanent end to Russian gas flows pose issues for the Russian leader.

Hungary, one of Russia’s main friends in the EU, had left its EU counterparts fuming over a refusal so far to approve the move.