Hungary would hurt EU taxpayers by lifting Russia sanctions, warns Estonia

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.

The blocking of the continuation of sanctions against Russia by Hungary will lead to the fact that the G7 countries and the EU will be forced to repay Ukraine's multi-billion loans, which were backed by Russian assets.

Hungary would hurt EU taxpayers by lifting Russia sanctions, warns Estonia

Foreign minister says unfreezing €210bn of Russian assets would leave Europe footing the bill for loans to Kyiv

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán risks further burdening European taxpayers if he forces the lifting of sanctions on the 210 billion euros in frozen Russian assets, Estonia's Foreign Minister warns.

EU Risks Billions in Extra Ukraine Aid If Orbán Blocks Russian Asset Freeze, Estonia Warns

Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has warned that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will hand European taxpayers an even higher bill for supporting Ukraine if he succeeds in pushing the EU to lift restrictions on €210 billion in frozen Russian assets, the Financial Times reported on April 20. According to the agency, Tsahkna said that if Orbán follows through on his threat to block the renewal of EU sanctions, it would force G7 and E…

According to Estonia's foreign minister, there would be serious financial consequences for EU taxpayers if Hungary prevented the extension of Russian sanctions. Margus Tsahkna warned that if frozen Russian assets were released, the G7 countries and the EU would have to settle for billions of euros in loans to Ukraine. Tsahkna is urging the maintenance of sanctions and even the seizure of Russian assets, while Belgium and other member states cite…