Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused the European Union of blackmail following a leaked report that revealed the EU was preparing to withhold all funding to Budapest if the Hungarian leader did not change his stance on Ukraine’s budgeting, according to French weekly Le Point.
“Nothing has changed. So the Hungarian position remains clear: As time goes on, we continue to believe that there is no military solution to the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the 26 other parties still believe that there is a military solution. Their proposal points in the direction of a military solution, which I do not support. We believe that the only solution is a diplomatic solution.”
Orbán emphasised that the request to the Hungarian government to support granting Ukraine 50 billion euros over four years could not be met, since “we do not like the escalation of the war and we do not think that the solution will be found on the battlefield.” He also warns that pressuring the country to accept the majority can be considered an infringement on its sovereignty.
The fundamental issue in this case is sovereignty. Hungary, as a sovereign state, opposes this amendment to the budget. Unfortunately, this right of an independent country is not accepted by the 26, so they are putting pressure on us and blackmailing us to join them.
Rejecting Brussels’ proposal to use the EU budget to sponsor the war in Ukraine, Orbán put forward a counter-proposal that he said might be a reasonable compromise.
“Hungary does not agree that we should give €50 billion, which is a huge amount. We do not agree that we should provide this for four years, and so on. But Hungary is ready to be part of the solution if you guarantee that every year we will decide whether we will continue to send this money or not. Our position is that this is not about blackmailing with a veto, but about restoring and maintaining the unity of the European Union.”
Commenting on Donald Trump’s participation in the US presidential election, Orbán claimed that “we need Donald Trump in Europe,” adding that this American politician has been one of the most successful US foreign policy presidents.
“He has not started a single war. The Abraham Accords were the only serious chance to bring peace, balance, and an acceptable way of life to a very difficult Middle East region. I remain personally convinced that if, in February 2022, the US President had been Donald Trump, there would no longer be a war in Europe.”
Today, I don’t see anyone else in Europe or America who is a strong enough leader to stop the war.
