After Orbán, EU eyes new Russia sanctions push – POLITICO

BRUSSELS — EU countries are keen to resurrect discussions come January on how to hit Russia’s economy.

The reason: That’s when Hungary — Moscow’s closest ally in the EU — will have to relinquish control of policy discussions and a new EU executive team will be fully in place to take the issue forward.

Additionally, Poland, ordinarily one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters, will take over the reins from Hungary as the EU’s presidency rotates. And Warsaw has already signaled it wants to use its six-month leadership stint to get tougher on Russian fuel flowing to the Continent, which remains a critical Kremlin revenue stream.