EU special summit: will Hungary say yes to Ukraine aid?
Will Viktor Orbán’s Hungary give the green light for the planned 50-billion-euro support package for Ukraine at the EU’s special summit on Thursday? Budapest has let it be known that it has presented Brussels with a list of demands in exchange for its yes vote, and the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó visited his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Monday. Meanwhile, rumours are circulating that the EU is poised to crank up the pressure on Hungary.
Priority now is to save face
Hungary will agree to the EU aid package for Ukraine, Radio Kommersant FM predicts:
“Budapest is making it clear that it can be persuaded but does not want to capitulate before certain conditions are accepted. It was against this backdrop that Szijjártó travelled to Uzhhorod. He called for negotiations in the Ukraine conflict, and is prepared to organise them. The second issue is the rights of Hungarians in Ukraine. ... Upon his return, Szijjártó will probably claim that he was able to get his way and that he has secured additional guarantees from Kyiv for the tormented Ukrainian-Magyars, and even promises of peace negotiations — and that he has also been promised gas. This way he can save face and agree to give Ukraine the promised EU billions.”
Blackmail the blackmailer
Brussels is prepared to take drastic measures, Népszava writes in reference to reports of a secret document stipulating that Hungary’s EU funds would be cut off if it vetoes the aid package:
“If there has to be a fight, so be it — the document leaked by the Financial Times makes that clear. The EU has finally had enough of Hungary’s little games: if Viktor Orbán vetoes support for Ukraine at the summit, the EU will come down so hard on our economy that it will bring the country to its knees through its market clout. ... Hungary’s government has achieved what seemed unthinkable: Brussels wants to teach a member state a lesson and no longer confine itself to simply blocking funds. It would respond to blackmail with blackmail.”
Tighten the screws
Hungary’s stance poses a threat to Europe as a whole, Rzeczpospolita emphasises:
“Hungary could break up the united European front of support for Ukraine and open Europe’s gates to Russian imperialism. ... All this means that only two ways out of the Hungarian crisis seem viable. The best is to force Orbán to change his stance. Failing that, the second best is to marginalise the country within the the EU. Maintaining the current constellation can only end in disaster.”
