Greens/EFA co-leaders Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout have accused Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico of blocking a new EU sanctions package against Russia and an already agreed € 90 billion loan to Ukraine, ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Reintke, president of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, said in a statement on Monday that Orbán was engaged in “permanent blackmail”, and described Orbán and Fico as “vassals of Putin.”
She declared Hungary’s prime minister was “campaigning at the expense of the people of Ukraine”, who she said were “paying with their lives” in the fight for “their freedom and the freedom of Europe.”
Claims of blocking EU sanctions and funding
Eickhout, also a Greens/EFA co-president, said the “latest sanctions package against Russia” was “essential” for supporting Ukraine and “European security.”
He stated the EU “cannot afford to be at the mercy” of Orbán and Fico, and called for continued support for Ukraine against “Russian aggression.”
