EU sanctions against Russia have to be renewed unanimously every six months. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wanted to use this fact to pressure the bloc into forcing Ukraine to reopen a transit pipeline for Russian gas. Now he lifted his veto.
Calling for an increase in EU defence spending, top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Russia was currently investing almost five times more on defence.
Slovakia has criticised Ukraine’s decision to end Russian gas transit to Europe, calling it a costly blow not only to Slovakia but the entire EU. While some member states downplay the impact, others face mounting pressure over energy security amid winter demands.
Heavily contested parliamentary elections in Georgia, presidential elections and a referendum on European Union membership in Moldova: both countries were closely watched by the EU with an eye to enlargement, but took different turns towards that goal. At the same time, the votes were allegedly stained by Russian interference.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many EU member states reduced or stopped their purchases of Russian natural gas, but a significant amount is still imported into the bloc today.