Viktor Orban, Hungary’s Prime Minister, arrives at the EU Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday, May 30, 2022, on the first day of the European Union (EU) Leaders’ Summit.
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Hungary accused the European Union of blackmail after a leaked document reportedly suggested the bloc plans to sabotage Budapest’s economy if it vetoes new aid to Ukraine at a summit later this week.
Hungary’s EU affairs minister took to social media to criticize the paper prepared by EU officials and quoted by the Financial Times on Sunday, which said Brussels had developed a strategy to address Hungary’s economic vulnerabilities and boost investor confidence in the blockade of funds to undermine Kiev.
“Hungary is not giving in to blackmail,” János Bóka wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“The document drawn up by Brussels bureaucrats only confirms what the Hungarian government has been saying for a long time: access to EU funds is being used by Brussels for political blackmail,” he added.
According to the report, Brussels said that if Budapest does not back down, EU leaders should commit to denying the country any financing, which would in turn unsettle markets, weaken the country’s forint currency and lead to a rise in borrowing costs would .
A senior EU official described the document on Monday as background information characterizing the current state of Hungary’s economy and said it did not represent a concrete plan regarding Budapest, the EU budget or Ukraine’s financing. They added that budget negotiations are ongoing and will continue to be based on reaching a compromise acceptable to all 27 member states.
Tensions between the EU and Budapest are heating up
Tensions are rising between the EU and its most pro-Russian member state after Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban earlier promised to increase the use of the EU budget to provide 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in financial aid to Ukraine block A special summit of heads of state and government will take place in Brussels on Thursday.
Orban blocked a vote in December on extending aid to the war-torn country and abstained from a vote that paved the way for Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations.
However, Hungary may be showing signs of softening its stance, according to the FT report, which quoted Bóka as saying that Budapest had sent a new proposal to Brussels on Saturday that suggested it was ready to join the EU budget for Ukraine aid as long as reservations were added that would allow him to change his mind at a later date.
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Orban’s political director said the document shows that the EU is not prepared to compromise with Budapest.
“Brussels is blackmailing Hungary like there is no tomorrow, even though we proposed a compromise,” Balázs Orbán, no relation to the prime minister, wrote in a post on X.
An EU spokesperson did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment on Budapest’s new proposal.
Hungary has often been a thorn in the side of the EU when it comes to supporting Ukraine. It is also the only country still opposed to Sweden’s attempt to join NATO after the Turkish parliament approved Stockholm’s application last week.
Orban will meet with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson later this week to further discuss the offer.
Correction: János Bóka is Hungary’s Minister for EU Affairs. An earlier version misstated his name.
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2024-01-30 03:17:46
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