The leaders of Germany, France and Italy faced off to make Hungary’s Viktor Orbán realize that the chips are down.
Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán agreed to the support to be paid to Ukraine in the restoration of discipline of the EU’s core force, which preceded the actual summit.
The French president was there Emmanuel MacronPrime Minister of Germany Olaf Scholz and the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU decision-makers had gathered in Brussels for an extra summit because Hungary stopped the support to be paid to Ukraine at the December meeting.
Orbán reportedly repeated his demands at the meeting, including the right to veto. He wanted the aid to be granted to Ukraine only for one year, after which it should be decided unanimously again.
The source of the meeting estimates that Orbán needed to hear face to face from the EU leaders that they are serious and that no counter-argument is expected. Orbán did not trust the messages of the prime ministers’ closest advisers, even though the positions have been the same for weeks.
Orbán’s chips started to run low.
The actual summit lasted only a few minutes, when the president of the European Council Charles Michel announced that Hungary will accept Ukraine’s aid package.
As small concessions, it was written into the agreement that the support will be discussed annually and, if necessary, an assessment can be made after two years. This is a far cry from the right of veto demanded by Hungary.
These sentences could have already been written into the agreement at the December summit, one official stated.
Orbán explained the matter in his tweet in the best way: “Mission accomplished. Hungarian money does not end up in Ukraine, and we have a control mechanism.”
The funds frozen from Hungary were never meant to be used to support Ukraine. The support is paid from the EU budget, which is paid by the member countries.
Hungary’s decision may also have been influenced by a document leaked to the Financial Times earlier in the week, according to which support for Hungary was intended to be limited, so that the country’s economy will go into an even worse downward spiral and investors will lose their confidence.
The EU leaders justified the decision at the previous day’s dinner. Prime minister Petteri Orpon (coc.) there it was confirmed that no one would side with Hungary. Orbán was not at the dinner.
Many people became disgusted with Hungary when the support dispute lasted. According to Orpo, Hungary received no criticism from others after the decision, but no praise either.
For example, the Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk stated according to Reuters that he would not count on Orbán to play in the team in the future.
Hungary has already lashed out at the EU in many decisions, for example sanctions against Russia.