Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I am satisfied that the tightening up of the sanctions regime is of significant assistance but I am also clear that there are always people looking to get around the sanctions. Russia is always looking to get around the sanctions, to be specific. That is why when the package comes forward - we need to see the 19th package agreed, I hope this week - we need to start preparation of the 20th package and a focus on the shadow fleet and removing any reliance Europe has on energy from Russia as quickly as possible.

The Deputy is right to call it out. Hungary is behaving in a really bad way in this. We have to be brutally honest about that. It is trying to block solidarity efforts. The EU 27 could not agree a statement condemning the attack by Russia on our EU delegation office in Kyiv because Hungary did not want to agree to a line that blamed Russia for the attack. That is what we are dealing with and it needs to be called out. However, we are finding ways of getting on with it. For example, while Hungary might have blocked the drawdown of funding under the European Peace Facility, EPF, we have now provided direct funding of €100 million, as the Deputy will remember, through other avenues we came up with, working with Denmark and Lithuania. We need to continue to move forward with that.

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