This week will be crucial for Ukraine. On Thursday, February 1, an exceptional summit of the European Union will be held to discuss the allocation to kyiv of financial aid of 50 billion euros for the next four years. But Viktor Orban’s Hungary continues to block the transfer of this aid to Ukraine, intended to support both the war effort and Ukrainian state spending. This Monday, while senior Ukrainian and Hungarian officials meet on the border between the two countries to try to reach a compromise, Budapest announces that it has sent new proposals to Brussels.
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Monday, it is the city of Uzhgorod, small regional capital of Transcarpathia, to the west ofUkraine, stuck on the Hungarian and Slovak border, the only Ukrainian city which has not been under curfew for two years, which is hosting a summit meeting. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto is expected in Uzhgorod to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, as well as Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man, in Transcarpathia where the Hungarian minority lives in Ukraine.
No doubt the civil and cultural rights of the Magyar minority will come up during discussions between the three men, especially since Budapest has used this issue for years to block kyiv’s European aspirations.
But this time, the stakes are high and low, reports our correspondent in kyiv, Stéphane Siohan. Ukrainian leaders want to persuade Hungary, known to be close to Russia, not to oppose the granting by Brussels of aid of 50 billion euros to Ukraine. For several weeks, the Ukrainian presidency has been working to organize a visit by Viktor Orban to kyiv in order to improve bilateral relations, but also to push Budapest to join European states in transferring the long-awaited funds to kyiv.
On Monday, in Uzhgorod, there must be a question of minority rights, the presence of the Hungarian language in the Ukrainian education system, but also and above all big money, to save the Ukrainian budget in 2024.
A Hungarian compromise proposal this weekend
Hungary sent a new proposal to Brussels this weekend. “ We proposed a compromise “, declared this Monday on X (ex-Twitter) Balazs Orban, political director of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, confirming information from Financial Times. According to the British daily, the Hungarian government said it was ready, in a letter sent to Brussels on Saturday, to draw on the budget of the European Union (EU), provided it could obtain the possibility of a revision.
If no solution is found by Thursday, Brussels has prepared a document calling on the leaders of the other 26 countries to publicly threaten to deprive Hungary of funds due to it, reports the Financial Timesin order to put pressure on Budapest by “ endangering its currency » and shaking investor confidence, says the newspaper. “ Hungary will not give in to blackmail! », reacted on his Facebook account the Minister of European Affairs Janos Boka, ensuring that Budapest had always participated in “discussions in a constructive manner”.
(and with agencies)
Viktor Orbán has a lot of prejudices towards Ukraine. He is very critical and negative towards Ukraine, and he also has sympathies for Vladimir Putin. We therefore have no particular illusions in Ukraine. But it is important for us that the dialogue continues. We are showing the European Union and all our international partners that we are ready to dialogue and that we are not giving up on finding compromises. Today, it is not just about these 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine. I think this question will be resolved one way or another. In any case, there is much more certainty on this subject than with the American Congress, because the European Union is already considering alternatives to resolve this problem. But it is also important for us to start negotiations for accession to the EU. However, Hungary can delay the start of these negotiations. We must therefore find a form of mutual understanding, even with such a difficult interlocutor as Viktor Orban.
Volodymyr Fesenko (Ukrainian political scientist): “It is important for us that the dialogue continues” with Hungary