Hungary lifted its objection to the EU’s renewal of sanctions on Russian individuals and entities after several names were taken off the list.
After a week of haggling, EU ambassadors reached a compromise over the six-month extension of the EU’s individual sanctions framework after Budapest removed its blockage.
Hungary had initially sought to remove eight sanctioned individuals, including Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Alisher Usmanov, and Petr Aven.
According to EU diplomats, EU envoys ultimately decided to de-list four Russian individuals and to remove three recently deceased persons – whose estates are caught by the sanctions – from the list.
Those include Russian billionaire Moshe Kantor and the country’s sports minister Mikhail Degtyarov, Vladimir Rashevsky and Gulbahor Imailova, the sister of oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
Rashevsky’s has been considered a “weak case” legally, and the agreement to remove his name was taken last week with little dispute.
Fridman, one of Budapest’s main asks, remains on the sanctions list.
The sanctions were rolled-over for another 6 months, until 15 September 2025.
There are currently over 2,400 individuals and entities on the EU’s blacklist. While some names have been removed over the past three years, the de-listings have been limited.
