The economic difficulties facing the Hungarian leader with will further undermine his ability to hijack — let alone drive — the EU’s agenda.

The EU renewed sanctions on Russia and called for unity to respond to Donald Trump's transactional approach. The US president's warning to Moscow to end the war or face more penalties was more in line with EU policy.

The European Union is facing another potential showdown with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his refusal to sign off on an extension of sanctions on Russia over its war against Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has urged Brussels to lift sanctions imposed on Russia after US President-elect Donald trump takes office. In an interview with Kossuth radio on Friday, Orban argued that the sanctions have harmed the European Union more than Russia.

Orban, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the EU, has broken with the majority of European leaders and vocally opposed such sanctions, arguing they did more to damage Euro

The sanctions target trade, finance, energy, technology, industry, transport and luxury goods and include a ban on seaborne crude oil.

The Hungarian premier has repeatedly called for the end of Russian sanctions. One of the E.U.’s closest Trump allies, Orban has backed the U.S. president’s ambition to end the war swiftly, asserting that the new administration was poised to cut off aid to Ukraine.

Serbia, Slovakia and Poland's call for a permanent end to Russian gas flows pose issues for the Russian leader.

Hungary, one of Russia’s main friends in the EU, had left its EU counterparts fuming over a refusal so far to approve the move.

Hungary wants the European Union to intervene in a gas dispute it has with Ukraine, a potential sign of friction in the bloc’s upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia.

Regarding NATO, the Hungarian PM stated unequivocally that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is currently not on the agenda and will not be for the foreseeable future. Responding to a journalist’s question, he explained that there will never be unanimous agreement on this issue. He went on to describe discussions around Ukraine’s NATO membership as a