The European Union (EU) renewed sanctions against Russia and agreed on a road map to lift some of those imposed on Syria. At an EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday, leaders also called for a unified approach to deal with US President Donald Trump and what analysts refer to as his “divide and rule policy.”
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said as the US undertook a “transactional” foreign policy, Europe needed to “close ranks.”
“We are stronger when we are united,” she told reporters.
Zsuzsanna Vegh, a program officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said that Trump intends to weaken the EU and deal with countries bilaterally.
“European leaders competing for attention from the Trump Administration will have a negative impact on the unity of the EU,” she told DW. “And Trump’s support for the euroskeptic European far right could further weaken the union.”
While no one is clear how exactly Trump’s policy will unfold in coming weeks, and fears of a trade war continue to grow, there is some hope that he may not go easy on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Behind closed doors European diplomats seemed relieved that Trump threatened to hit Russia with higher tariffs and even more sanctions if it didn’t end the war Moscow started against Kyiv.
Kallas said it was good that Trump has put “more pressure” on Russia, and made it clear that the onus to end the war lies with Putin.
The Europeans are taking Trump’s stern words against Russia as a positive sign. Experts say the US president’s position likely took Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is more Putin-friendly than the rest of EU leaders, by surprise.
EU extends Russia sanctions as Orban dialed down threat to veto
The EU renewed sanctions against Russia that restrict trade with the country and freeze billions of sovereign assets.
“Europe delivers, ” Kallas posted on X as she confirmed the renewal of sanctions that comes up every six months. “This will continue to deprive Moscow of revenues to finance its war,” she added. “Russia needs to pay for the damage they are causing.”
Orban had been stalling the process and had threatened to veto the extension if the EU didn’t get Ukraine to transport Russian gas through its pipelines to Hungary. Earlier this month Ukraine decided against renewing an agreement that allowed Russian energy sources to flow through its territory.
Orban said he was putting the “handbrake” on sanctions renewal and claimed Hungary had been losing billions since Ukraine stopped Russian energy supplies.
“If the Ukrainians want help, for example to sanction the Russians, then let them reopen the gas pipeline and let them allow the Central European countries, including Hungary, to import the gas we need through Ukraine,” Orban had said.
But then Orban relented.
Why did Orban give in?
News agency Reuters reported that the EU Commission released a statement saying it is ready to continue discussions with Ukraine “on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine in line with Ukraine’s international obligations.”
The Commission also said it would involve Hungary and Slovakia in the process.
“The Commission will approach Ukraine to request assurances regarding the maintenance of oil pipeline transfers to the EU,” it added.
But the statement said nothing about whether it would ask Ukraine to resume supply of Russian gas, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has flatly refused.
“We will not let the Russians profit,” he told the press last week as he offered to set up an alternative: to let Azerbaijan supply gas to those European nations in need.
Experts say that after Trump’s unexpected admonishment of the Russian government to end the “ridiculous war” and “make a deal,” Orban found himself in a quandary.
Vegh said that Orban’s giving in regarding the EU sanctions reflected that he “took into account the American position.”
“[Orban] expected Trump to step in regarding the war in a way that would benefit Putin and him,” Vegh said. Trump’s position may have come as a surprise to Hungary, she added. Orban “did have to tone down his objections” to the renewal of sanctions against Russia, and is now forced to “carefully navigate his ties with Moscow and Washington.”
EU suspends Syria sanctions
The EU is also assessing developments in Syria under the transitional authority of Islamist group Hayat Tahir al Sham (HTS), a former al Qaeda affiliate, as it lifts sanctions on the war-torn country.
The bloc agreed on a “road map to ease sanctions” while retaining the option to reimpose them if Syria did not form an inclusive government, or if it was accused of grave human rights violations.
Julien Barnes-Dacey, the director of the Middle East & North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), said there is a growing consensus in Europe about the need for quick movement on sanctions relief, “even if there’s a desire to ensure some degree of conditionality and reversibility to maintain some leverage over the new authorities.”
“The dire state of the economy is clearly one of the biggest challenges facing a positive transition,” Barnes-Dacey told DW. “There’s a real risk that if the country can’t be stabilized things could deteriorate quickly.”
Edited by: Carla Bleiker
