Arthur de Laborde // MUSTAFA YALCIN / ANADOLU / Anadolu via AFP
modified to
06:58, December 14, 2023
While a major European summit is being held this Thursday in Brussels, possible financial aid of 50 billion euros could be allocated to Ukraine by the 27 member countries of the European Union. However, they risk coming up against the temperament of Viktor Orban, the Hungarian head of state, opposed to any accession of the country within the EU.
Hungary makes Ukraine tremble. This Thursday, December 14, Emmanuel Macron is in Brussels for a European summit crucial for the future of Ukraine. The 27 countries of the Union want to send a strong political signal to kyiv by adopting financial aid of 50 billion euros, while opening negotiations for accession to the EU. The only problem is that Viktor Orban, the Hungarian head of state, is threatening to block this economic and political support.
Inflexible on the subject of membership of the European Union
Received with great fanfare by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron last Friday for last-ditch negotiations, Viktor Orban nevertheless showed himself to be inflexible. “Contacts continue with him to reach decisions by tomorrow,” declared the Élysée. It would therefore take a miracle for the Hungarian Prime Minister to change his mind, he who maintained that Ukraine is “one of the most corrupt countries in the world”, in an interview with the weekly Le Point.
A few notes of hope could change the situation. Viktor Orban thus recognizes that “Ukraine is in difficulty” because “it is suffering the Russian invasion”, and that it is “legitimate for the entire European Council (to it) to send good signals”. He could also be convinced on the financial aspect of support for kyiv in exchange for paying Hungary nearly 30 billion euros frozen by Brussels for breaches of the rule of law. Thus, this Wednesday evening, the European Commission released 10 billion euros in cohesion funds, which will be paid in progressive installments to Budapest.
However, Viktor Orban remains unmoved on the question of Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. Still in Le Point, he warned about “what this accession would mean economically for France” and assured him: “it would be a terrible mistake”.