Using the unanimity principle applicable to budget decisions, the Hungarian prime minister blocked the granting of an amount of 50 billion euros to Kiev over three years, which the Kremlin immediately welcomed.
The Kremlin did not hide its joy: its man in Brussels, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, blocked financial aid (50 billion euros over three years, of which 17 billion in donations and 33 billion in loans) and military aid (20 billion euros) for the Ukraine urgently needs. The European Union's budget decisions are made unanimously. The veto of this small country with fewer than 10 million inhabitants and a share of around 1% of the Community's GDP was enough to paralyze its 26 partners (440 million inhabitants). “Hungary […] Resolutely represents its interests, which we appreciate,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov immediately on Friday morning. Of course, Orbán has previously agreed not to oppose the start of EU accession negotiations with Kiev in principle, thereby offering him a political consolation prize, but that is a long-term perspective while their future is currently playing out on the battlefield.
“The Europeans stand alone against Russia,” emphasizes Jean-Louis Bourlanges, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly and a former MEP. Indeed, the United States is currently in retreat, as evidenced by Congress's refusal to vote for additional aid to Ukraine a year before the 2024 presidential election, where the specter of Donald Trump's return looms over. “The sole purpose of the European Council [qui s’est achevé vendredi après-midi, ndlr] It should have been aid for Ukraine, which did not have the military means to resist the Russians. If it loses the war, our collective security would be in danger, explains the MP. Instead, leaders agreed to the ineffective decision-making processes in the Council after trying to buy out Orbán by approving on Wednesday the payment of 10 billion euros in European funds that should remain blocked because Hungary is no longer a democracy .”
United front of the four major political groups in the European Parliament
This gift was of no use, as Orbán is now demanding the 21 billion euros as the price for lifting his veto, which the Union is still blocking due to its multiple attacks on the rule of law. A demand that seems difficult to accept, apart from the Union officially giving up defending its values, which is once again a disastrous signal when Western democracies are under attack from all sides. In any case, the European Parliament would not accept such a capitulation: from Tuesday, the leaders of the four main political groups (Conservatives of the EPP, Socialists, Liberals of the Renew and Greens) wrote to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Commission protesting against the payment of 10 Billion euro. It is clear that if she gave in to Orbán's blackmail she would risk being overthrown. The latter undoubtedly knows full well that his demand is inadmissible, which in reality amounts to announcing that his veto will be maintained.
The Hungarian prime minister misled his people ahead of the summit on Thursday and Friday by saying he was ready to compromise on budget issues and was inflexible on membership. But unlike his partners and Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, who had not planned a “Plan B,” he was not mistaken about what was really important to the Kremlin. From now on, the 26 must show imagination, even if Emmanuel Macron, the French head of state, calls on Orbán to “behave in a European way and not to block”. For her part, Ursula von der Leyen recognized that “it is necessary to work on possible alternatives in order to have an operational solution in the event that an agreement of 27 is not possible”.
Emmanuel Macron believes that in the worst case scenario it is possible to bypass Hungary, although legally this can only be done by creating a fund outside the Community budget, fed by national contributions. But it would also be a victory for Orbán, because he has demanded that aid to Ukraine should not be part of the budget. Meanwhile, the President of the Republic reiterated that European aid would not be interrupted. Berlin has already taken the lead in budgeting 8 billion euros in bilateral aid, as Germany has grown tired of the increasing blockades from Hungary, which since the summer has been particularly opposed to the payment of 500 million euros to Kiev by the “European Union”. opposes peace facility”. For this reason, Germany is not in favor of increasing this fund by a further 20 billion euros, as the Commission is proposing, in order to circumvent the unanimity principle, which has clearly proven to be harmful.