Fidesz MEP Tamás Deutsch said sanctions against Russia imposed in response to the war in Ukraine have failed to end the war and are threatening to “ruin Europe”.
On the sidelines of a European parliamentary plenary in Brussels, Deutsch said the EP was planning to accept a resolution on a blanket ban on Russian energy resources, bringing about “the immediate economic collapse of EU member states”. Fidesz MEPs will boycott the vote, he said. The EU has accepted nine sanction packages against Russia since the war began, all of which have failed to end the war while stoking inflation and triggering an economic and energy crisis, he said, calling for an end to “suicidal sanctions policy and a return to common sense”. The bloc should strive for a ceasefire and peace talks, he said. He called it “unacceptable” that the EP resolution had failed to address Ukraine’s legislation on ethnic minorities which, he said, harmed the rights of all minorities in the country. The Fidesz MEP said he hoped that EU representatives would address the issue at the Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv on Friday. Earlier on Thursday, Johannes Hahn, the budget and administration commissioner, said the EU had allocated a further 400 million euros for supporting Ukraine. Fully 100 million euros will be used as humanitarian aid, and 300 million will boost bilateral cooperation, Hahn said. The funding will be announced at a Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv on Friday, Hahn said. At the plenary session, Deutsch said Hungary had been supporting Ukraine beyond its means since the start of the war and has accepted some 1 million refugees. Hungary has always condemned the Russian attack and stood by Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, he said.