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European Commission plans to release millions of EU funds to push through sanctions on Russia
The European Commission plans to release around €550 million in EU funds to Hungary to prevent Viktor Orbán from vetoing sanctions on Russian energy imports, the Financial Times reported.
On Friday, EU member states' ambassadors discussed the sanctions package proposed by the Commission, which would ban Russian LNG imports from January 2027. Only eight EU countries currently import Russian LNG: Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, and Slovakia.
According to FT, after several months of negotiations, the European Commission is expected to grant the Hungarian government permission to receive €550 million of the amount it requested in May as part of the EU's joint budget review. According to the news outlet, the Hungarian government originally planned to draw down €605 million.
In 2022, the European Commission froze approximately €22 billion in EU funds earmarked for Hungary. Some of these funds have since been released, but €1 billion has been lost due to the expiry of the deadline. This is because the Hungarian government failed to implement the measures required by the EU Council
Swedish PM to Orban: "The oil might come from the east, but freedom always comes from the west."
"The oil might come from the east, but freedom always comes from the west," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson responded to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán with his own words. Kristersson wrote a long letter to X, citing historical examples, after Orbán posted about “collapsing” Sweden for the second time on Wednesday.
Kristersson wrote that he is aware that there is an ongoing election campaign in Hungary and that Orbán has a real challenger this time. However, the Swedes are not interfering in the campaign, nor do they want to be involved in it.
According to Kristersson, Sweden has always been a friend of Hungary. He cited the historical examples of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish ambassador to Budapest, who saved Jews, and Swedish society, which welcomed Hungarian refugees in 1956.
"Democratic states help each other, then and now. And they stand up against countries that try to oppress others. That is why, just as in 1944 and 1956, we support democratic countries that Russian tanks try to overrun. Back then, it was about Hungary; today, it is about Ukraine. And if we do not act, it could be about another country tomorrow. This is also why we often express concern about the developments in Hungary in recent years. Hungary ultimately regained its freedom, but freedom must also be defended, "Kristersson wrote.
Orban clapped back on Friday: "The Swedish government lectures us on the rule of law while their own cities burn with violence, bombings, and underage perpetrators."
Hungary and Slovakia ‘feeding Russian war machine’, says Finnish president
Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, accused Hungary and Slovakia of bankrolling the Kremlin’s war effort by continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas, Barron's reports.
Speaking in Kyiv alongside Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Stubb said Moscow’s drone strikes crossing into Poland showed it was “seeking escalation” with NATO, and urged Europe to step up pressure on Russia.
“As far as getting our own house in order, I think President Trump, when he says that Europe needs to stop buying Russian oil and gas, is right,” Stubb told reporters. “The finger points in two places. One is Hungary and the other is Slovakia. And, of course, we make sure that President Trump is aware of who is feeding the Russian war machine by buying Russian energy.”
Hungary and Slovakia are the EU’s biggest importers of Russian oil and gas. Both Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico have resisted calls to wean their countries off Russian supplies, defended their energy dependence, and courted closer ties with Moscow – positions that have repeatedly put them at odds with Brussels.
Hungarian pro-government figure reports from Russian front praising Orbán
Georg Spöttle, a prominent figure in Hungary’s pro-government media, checked in from the Russian side of the front in a short (since deleted) YouTube video in which he quoted a Chechen commander’s repeated praise for Hungarians and their “respect” for Viktor Orbán. Spöttle spends most of the two-and-a-half-minute clip describing Chechen drone-defence units said to be positioned 1–2 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, pointing out a drone-detection device on the roof of an SUV behind him and delivering a lengthy monologue on the details of drone attacks. A Chechen commander named Mohammed appears in the footage, speaking in broken English and some Russian and praising the Hungarian prime minister, to which Spöttle replies: “I can certainly agree with that.” The clip ends with Spöttle saying: “It’s good to be here with them because I’m seeing so many new things and I can show you what war is really like.”
An investigative outlet, Direkt36, reported that Spöttle, who regularly echoes Kremlin-aligned misinformation in Hungarian pro-government media, has links to Russian intelligence and that his connections contributed to an acquaintance failing a national security screening while applying to be a diplomat. Direkt36 also reported that Spöttle attempted to use political connections to secure the applicant a place in the diplomatic training programme. Despite the revelations, the outlet found, Spöttle remained a regular summer presence on pro-government platforms and was interviewed six times by the Russian state agency RIA Novosti, where he was presented as a “Hungarian political analyst”.