2023-12-14 22:36:40
By Anne Rovan
Published yesterday at 11:36 p.m., Updated 2 hours ago
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attend a European Union summit (Brussels, December 14, 2023). YVES HERMAN/REUTERS
The release of European funds and Ukraine do not seem linked but the message sent is devastating.
Correspondent in Brussels
The schedule could not be more calamitous. The Commission waited until Wednesday evening, the day before the European summit, to release 10.2 of the approximately 30 billion euros promised to Hungary and which it was withholding while waiting for Budapest to comply with EU standards on the State of right. And this, even as Viktor Orban was preparing to torpedo EU support for Ukraine.
In absolute terms, the release of European funds and EU support for Ukraine are not linked, but the message sent is devastating. “It’s a very bad calculation and a very bad signal,” exclaims an EU diplomat. “It’s very unfortunate. Orban will return to Budapest with money and he will not budge on Ukraine. He went to see the Republicans in the United States at the beginning of the week to tell them that aid to Ukraine should be blocked. It’s as if he was saying to the Europeans: are you going to do… It’s a betrayal,” another gets angry.
Also read: EU support for Ukraine blackmailed by Viktor Orban
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