To push Orban to approve aid to Ukraine, Hungary may be stripped of vote in EU — FT
To approve the agreement on providing an aid package to Ukraine for €50 billion in 2024-2027, the European Union member states are considering depriving Hungary of the right to vote.
Rubryka reports this with reference to the Financial Times.
According to the newspaper, some officials in Brussels are proposing to apply the penalty procedure under Article 7 of the 2007 Treaty on the European Union for violating the rule of law, which could lead to the termination of the right to vote.
Any other member state could block the move, but Poland's government change means Hungary no longer has a guaranteed protector.
However, many countries are nervous about using what is essentially the EU's biggest weapon against a member state.
Instead, officials said, the priority was to convince Orbán by making clear what they called the "full costs" of his isolation.
Failing that, the 26 other EU members could each strike a deal to help Ukraine individually, although this would take time and offer only a short-term solution.
"Maybe Hungary can create more problems," said a senior EU official who attended the summit in Brussels last week. "Hungary can force us to use a few different tools. But in the end, Hungary can't stop us from giving money to Ukraine."
The EU summit and aid to Ukraine
At the summit of EU leaders in Brussels on December 14, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán unexpectedly softened on the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz persuaded him to leave the room to drink coffee. Orbán effectively abstained after making it clear for weeks that he would resist any move to start talks.
A few hours later, he spoiled Kyiv's celebration moment and pleased the Kremlin by vetoing a four-year, €50 billion bailout package. As the Financial Times points out, even by Orbán's standards, it was a drastic move that puzzled his partners. His refusal to seek compromise on a key EU security issue has alarmed even those who have argued with him for years.
Daniel Hegedus, senior fellow at the German think tank Marshall Fund, said:
"This was a low point for the EU and a new high point of escalation."
Orban's position in the EU
For most of his 13 years in power, Orbán has used an adversarial relationship with the EU to galvanize voters and extract financial concessions from Brussels. His current claim to Brussels is the suspension of €20 billion in funding over the rule of law and fundamental rights concerns.
"We all see that it takes money to provoke him," said a high-ranking EU diplomat.
A long-time Eurosceptic and self-proclaimed "illiberal democrat," Orbán has played hardball at several previous summits, pledging to block the EU's €1.8 trillion budget and pandemic recovery fund in 2020 or Ukraine's €18 billion aid package a year ago to later retreat.
According to the FT, on the eve of last week's summit, EU leaders tried their best to understand exactly what Orbán wanted. Was he following the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, or was he trying to force Brussels to unblock frozen funds?
Orbán and his allies have repeatedly stated that his opposition to aid to Ukraine is not related to EU funding of Hungary. But as the summit drew to a close on Friday, he finally named his price: the payment of the remaining €20 billion.
"This is a great opportunity for Hungary to make clear that it must get all of what it is due," the Hungarian Prime Minister said.
The Hungarian leader also noted that he has 75 more opportunities to block Ukraine's accession process, as each stage requires the unanimous approval of EU members. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Hungary will take over the six-month presidency of the bloc in July, another potential source of leverage.
The EU approved the allocation of €10 billion to Hungary last week. However, any further allocation of funds will likely be met with stiff resistance. The other €20 billion, which belongs to Hungary, is held under a separate procedure that gives Brussels the leverage it needs.
