RIGA - The upcoming change of government in Hungary has opened a historic opportunity, which should be used both to speed up the approval of the 21st sanctions package against Russia and to accelerate the EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, Inara Murniece (National Alliance), Chair of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee, told LETA.
The parliament speaker noted that the adoption of the 20th sanctions package after long delays and objections from Hungary shows that the EU can reach an agreement in difficult circumstances, but Murniece would like the sanctions to be much tougher.
"We always want each new sanctions package to be a nail in the coffin of the Russian economy. Unfortunately, we see that this is not happening," Murniece said.
According to the speaker, the Russian economy manages to function in wartime at the expense of ordinary people by cutting spending on social services, education, and healthcare. Mass protests in Russia are unlikely, she said, which is why the EU must continue to undermine Russia's war funding, particularly by targeting oil and gas exports and tankers of Russia's shadow fleet.
On the EU's foreign policy decision-making procedure, Murniece spoke in support of the National Alliance's opposition to a transition to qualified majority voting and stressed that the principle of unanimity protects the interests of smaller member states. She referred to cases where Latvia had to defend itself against Russian propaganda claims about alleged human rights violations.
As reported, on April 23, the EU approved a EUR 90 billion loan for Ukraine and a new round of sanctions against Russia.
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