EU Commission Rejects Hungary and Slovakia's Bid to Lift Lukoil Sanctions

The European Commission stalled Hungary and Slovakia’s request to press Kyiv to revoke recent sanctions against the Russian oil company Lukoil.

Last month, Ukraine strengthened sanctions against Lukoil, effectively barring the company from using Ukraine as a transit route for its products.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized the sanctions calling them “senseless”, while the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, stated that Hungary will continue blocking $6.5 billion in military aid from the EU until Kyiv restores the supply of Russian oil.

Yesterday at the meeting of EU trade representatives, none of the countries sided with Budapest and Bratislava, The Financial Times reported.

One of the participants stated that the trade agreement with Ukraine has a security clause that allows transit to be stopped. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that Brussels would need more time to "assess the legal situation".