Many European Union diplomats thought that it would become easier to approve sanctions on Russia after the departure of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in May after 16 years in power.Seen as the most Kremlin-friendly leader in the bloc, other European politicians and diplomats had often lamented that Budapest had watered down both the blacklisting of key Russian individuals and measures aimed at weakening Moscow’s economic and military prowess.So, expectations were high when the European Commission’s proposal for a 21st package of EU sanctions since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 landed in European capitals in early June.And early drafts, seen by RFE/RL, indicated that it was indeed full of ambitious measures.Still No DealYet, nearly six weeks later, there is still no agreement on the entire package, as all 27 EU member states must give their consent.A self-imposed deadline of July 15 -- the last scheduled Wednesday meeting of EU ambassadors before Belgium’s national day on July 21 when most EU officials head to the beach for up to a month -- came and went.And what’s more -- pretty much every measure has been pared back or removed to such an extent that EU diplomats RFE/RL has been in touch with now refer to the package as “the Emmental” after the famous Swiss cheese full of holes.One of the headline proposals was an import ban on Russian fish -- most notably cod, haddock, and pollock. But several member states, including Germany, Poland, and Portugal began demanding exemptions, as Russian fish is used for domestic food processing, including the production of items such as fish sticks. In the end, the measure was watered down so extensively that it was scrapped altogether.It was a similar story with another big proposal: an automatic ban on Russian ex-combatants in Ukraine entering the EU’s Schengen zone.Notably, Estonia had pushed for this as 2025 saw a 10 percent increase in tourist visas issued to Russian nationals compared to the previous year, with France, Italy, and Spain accounting for the vast majority of them.