Hungary lost about €20 billion due to EU anti-Russian sanctions

Hungary has lost about €20 billion in three years due to European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia. This was announced on March 27 by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

He noted that the sanctions policy for Europe turned out to be a failure, which is why the competitiveness of the continent's countries has decreased. According to Szijjarto, everything that entails minimizing anti-Russian restrictions is good news for Hungary.

"Europe has lost a lot on sanctions, Hungary itself has lost a lot on sanctions, about €20 billion in economic losses over the past three years. So we can calculate: €6-7 billion a year, these are huge losses," the Hungarian Foreign Minister said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

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The British newspaper Financial Times (FT) reported on March 14 that officials in Europe have again begun discussions about whether Hungary can be deprived of the right to vote because of Budapest's firm position on Russia, as the country may block joint decisions of the European Union, including those directed against Moscow. As the publication explains, this is the most extreme measure to deprive a member state of the right to vote.

Prior to that, on March 8, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary's economy had lost €20 billion in three years of conflict in Ukraine. According to him, this was the main factor in Budapest's failure to sign an agreement with 26 EU countries, which "actually talks about the need to send more weapons and money to Ukraine."