The Ukrainian president had a bad start to Sunday in America, and today could be even worse.
Source: profimedia/Pool /Ukrainian Presidentia / Zuma Press
If Ukraine is to get anything out of today’s important summit of EU leaders, it will need it the support of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbanwhich has so far strongly resisted Kiev’s efforts to join the EU, as well as its pleas for help. “We are the voice of common sense in Europe”Orbán said in the Hungarian parliament on the eve of the summit and added: “War, corruption, a large agricultural sector and the mistreatment of the Hungarian minority disqualify Ukraine from soon joining the EU.”
A symbolic invitation to Ukraine to start official negotiations is at the top of the agenda of the two-day meeting in Brussels, along with with a promise of 54 billion euros in EU funds to start the Ukrainian economy until 2024 and an additional 24 billion euros in the army, writes the Croatian Index.
Zelensky had a bad start to Sunday in America – today could be even worse
Hungary’s objections threaten to worsen a bad Sunday for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.His visit to Washington failed to secure $61 billion in US military funding. Republican representatives blocked them. “If there is no positive news from Brussels, it will mean that Putin vetoed this decision”, warned the Ukrainian leader, explicitly accusing Budapest of standing in the way. Hungary could block anything Kiev requests, despite widespread support for Ukraine from other EU capitals. The new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that “apathy towards Ukraine is unacceptable”.
However, as EU leaders began arriving in Brussels late last night, hints of a possible compromise began to emerge. Thus, the European Commission announced that it is unblocking around 10.2 billion euros out of more than 30 billion euros of EU funds for Hungary, which have been frozen due to lags in the rule of law.
The European Commission is trying to soften Orban
Although the unlocking of the funds is seen as an attempt to soften Orbán’s position, officials in Brussels deny that they were blackmailed. The change to the criminal code was one of many changes demanded by Brussels. Most other EU leaders are firmly behind Kiev. Even Slovak Robert Fico, who stopped military aid to Ukraine, says he will support the start of negotiations on Kyiv’s entry into the EU.
Source: Profimedia
A few hours after President Zelenski left Washington, where he failed to unblock American aid, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament: “We must give Ukraine what it needs to be strong today, so that it can be stronger at the table tomorrow, when it negotiates a lasting and just peace for Ukraine.”
The Greens desperately need progress at the EU summit
Zelenskiy desperately needs progress at the EU summit and he tried to sound optimistic during his visit to Norway: “We were very constructive. We did absolutely everything, we fulfilled the recommendations of the European Union.” The European Commission has suggested that it is now six of the seven preconditions for the start of formal accession negotiations have been met. Budapest disputes this, accusing Brussels of lowering the bar to help Kiev. On Sunday, President Zelenski was seen in intense face-to-face talks with Viktor Orban in Argentina. The Ukrainian president later described the conversation as “extremely frank.”
Source: ALEJANDRO PAGNI / AFP / Profimedia
To counter Budapest, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law last Sunday guaranteeing Hungarians and other minorities the right to study in their own language. A new Ukrainian anti-corruption law, which was demanded by the EU, was also adopted, which deprived Orban’s government of some of its ammunition against Kiev. Nobody in Brussels is suggesting that Ukraine is ready to join tomorrow. The start of membership negotiations is a symbolic act of solidarity of the European Union.
Orban: My position is not exactly a veto, but…
Orban told the French weekly Le Point that his position “is not exactly a veto” and added: “Let’s say I don’t contribute to what seems to me to be a bad decision”. That sounds like a restrained voice. His government has already quietly approved 11 packages of sanctions against Russia, although the domestic pro-government Hungarian media rarely report on it. Another crack in the anti-Ukrainian front of the Hungarian government happened yesterday, when the head of his cabinet, Balaž Orbanwho is not related to the prime minister, said that ffinancing of Hungary from the EU and financing of Ukraine are separate issues.
“But if the EU insists that funding for Ukraine should come from the amended EU budget, the two issues become linked,” he told Bloomberg. Viktor Orbán is adamant that Hungary “cannot be blackmailed” and that financial matters “cannot be mixed.” with questions of principle”.
The stakes for Ukraine are much higher than those for Hungary
He, like Zelenski, insists that he did everything the Commission asked him to do. But the stakes for Ukraine are much higher. President Zelenski risks losing the war with Russia, doc Orban wants to gain more influence in Europe. His focus is shifting to the European Parliament elections in June 2024, when he hopes to see his colleagues from the nationalist parties triumph. The best outcome for Zelensky would be to return to Kyiv with an invitation to start accession negotiations and a check for 78 billion euros in military and economic aid.
(WORLD)