How should the EU react to Orbán's blockade?
Two key decisions on support for Ukraine are to be taken at next week's EU summit: the opening of EU accession talks and the delivery of 50 billion euros in financial aid. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has threatened to veto both proposals and called for the topics to be taken off the agenda. Commentators see Hungary increasingly isolated.
Better to compromise
The Hungarian government's stance does not serve Hungary's interests, Magyar Hang observes:
“The problem is its intransigence, its apparent inability to compromise, the fact that for some time now the government has seemed incapable of winning over European allies who are in government. ... Of course, this mentality may be appealing to some Hungarian voters because it feels good to nurture our resentments. ... But deep down, most people know that this attitude is not exactly progressive. It's not going to make people respect us more. And it's not even the best way to represent our interests.”
Hungary beyond salvation
Élet és Irodalom sees no hope for an improvement in relations between Hungary and the EU:
“It's hard to say this because you're talking about your own country, but Hungary is probably beyond salvation at the moment. Its government is leading the country with big steps out of the European community into a very unstable world that even Viktor Orbán tried to escape from when he was still in the opposition. His motives are clear: the anti-democratic system he has built up for his own benefit cannot be maintained within the EU framework.”
The Kremlin's Trojan horse
Hungary's prime minister is discrediting the EU, the Tages-Anzeiger complains:
“The EU's image as a credible partner and geopolitical player has already been tarnished. ... Orbán is accepting that Ukraine will lose its defence war against Russia and may have to capitulate. That would not only be a disaster for Ukraine, but would also seriously weaken the EU and expose it to a major challenge. ... It is not for nothing that some see the Hungarian as the Russian president's Trojan horse.”
EU must not tolerate blackmail
Political scientist Radovan Geist fears in Pravda that the EU Commission will make blocked funds available to get Orbán to change his mind:
“Blackmail works well for the Hungarian prime minister. If he is allowed to get away with it, it will be a mistake and a dangerous concession. Firstly, there is no guarantee that Budapest will actually withdraw its veto (against the planned Ukraine resolutions at the EU summit). And even if it does, Hungary can continue to blackmail the EU in the future. Blackmail could become Orbán's most effective weapon. ... And Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, whom the EU is now threatening to withhold funds from because of his interference with his country's judiciary, need only follow Orbán's example.”
Macron can fix this
Macron is planning to meet with Orbán on Thursday evening and try to persuade him to change his mind. Népszava author István Marnitz offers the French president a piece of advice:
“Allow me remind you that Viktor Orbán used to spit on Moscow with at least as much contempt [as he does now on Kyiv] when he was in opposition, until Putin invited him to his party's congress in St. Petersburg in 2009. Something happened there. A new Orbán returned from the meeting. And as we have seen, in the last 13 years or so of his rule he has systematically and resolutely handed over the whole of Hungary to the Russians. How should one approach Orbán now? Well, in much the same way as Putin did back then. One must bear in mind that [the language of power] is the only language Orbán understands.”
Put Hungary's suspension on the agenda
Tageblatt calls for consequences in the upcoming EU reforms:
“The aim of the reforms should be to allow applicants to have a say in Brussels in areas in which they have already achieved EU standards even before they join the bloc. This should also apply vice versa. Article 7 of the EU Treaty has long included the option of suspending a country's membership. A discussion on this should now be put on the agenda for the EU summit. That would be the least that could be done in the run-up to Hungary's EU Council Presidency which begins next July. Or will the EU simply allow Orbán to continue attacking it without doing anything about it?”
Organise aid bilaterally if need be
Orbán is behaving as if he were Putin's unofficial governor in the West, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes indignantly:
“Even Erdoğan has adopted a more balanced stance. Orbán probably chose the timing for his little rebellion in Brussels carefully. Since Washington is also currently blocking further financial and military aid for Ukraine, the potential damage for Kyiv is maximised. ... Ukraine won't be joining the EU any time soon anyway. The 50 billion euros are important for the country. The negotiations can continue until next week, but the EU should stick to its principles in the dispute over the rule of law. In the worst case, aid for Ukraine can also be organised bilaterally.”