Orbán crosses EU red Line, facing reckoning after elections — Politico
Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has blocked a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, a loan he himself approved in December, and in doing so has crossed a line beyond which the EU will no longer remain silent, according to Politico.
Thursday’s EU leaders’ summit in Brussels could be Orbán's last. He faces elections in April, where he is trailing his opponent.
Five EU diplomats and a government minister from one of the bloc's member states have spoken out about the impending consequences for Budapest.
EU reaction
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul issued a direct warning at a closed-door meeting: Budapest’s obstructionism can no longer be tolerated. Other ministers spoke even more harshly.
"Prime Minister Orbán should understand that he is all the time testing the limits of what other member states are willing to put up with," says one of the EU diplomats.
Sweden has already openly stated its readiness to invoke Article 7 of the EU Treaty, the mechanism for stripping Hungary of its voting rights.
What's next
The actual consequences depend on the results of the April 12 election. If Orbán's rival, Péter Magyar, wins, the EU will adopt a wait-and-see approach. If Orbán is re-elected, a serious conversation will begin among EU member states regarding next steps.
"This will definitely have consequences after the elections. We are just waiting for that to happen," says one diplomat.
Currently, the EU is considering linking funding to stricter conditions regarding the rule of law.
Leaders face a choice: remove the loan from the agenda and anger Zelenskyy, or confront Hungary and appear to be giving in to blackmail.
"But if we fail on the loan, Zelenskyy will rightly be furious," admits one of the diplomats.
What happened
Orbán used the damage to the Druzhba oil pipeline in January to block a loan for Ukraine. This was a breach of his own word to EU leaders, and at the same time, a convenient excuse for his election campaign.
At the same time, the Hungarian Prime Minister detained an armored convoy carrying Ukrainian gold and released a video claiming that his family had received threats from Ukraine.
Incidentally, former Fidesz MP Zsuzsanna Szelényi believes he is capable of provoking a constitutional crisis or declaring a state of emergency to complicate the formation of a new government.
According to her, if the opposition wins only a simple majority, Orbán will have enough tools to effectively block the work of parliament.
Experts say: Orbán will most likely not directly claim fraud—that would hurt his chances of a comeback. Instead, he will challenge the results in individual districts and encourage his supporters to protest.
