The European Union will sabotage the economy of Hungary in case the Orban Government blocks the granting of a new aid for Ukraine at the summit scheduled for this week, Financial Times (FT) argues, citing a confidential plan elaborated by Brussels.
According to the FT, cited by Reuters and Agerpres, Brussels has even outlined a strategy to explicitly target Hungary’s economic vulnerabilities, destabilize its currency, and undermine investor confidence, in an attempt to hit the country’s “jobs and growth.” if Prime Minister Viktor Orban refuses to lift his veto against aid for Kiev.
The document, accessed by the British financial newspaper, notes that if an agreement is not reached by February 1, other heads of state and government will publicly declare that, in light of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s unconstructive behavior, it is unimaginable for the EU to provide funds to Budapest.
Hungarian Minister for European Affairs Janos Boka told FT that Budapest is not aware of such a financial threat, but that his country “will not yield to pressure.”
In December, Viktor Orban gave up his veto against the EU’s launch of accession negotiations with Ukraine, but at the same time blocked a 50 billion euro financial aid from the EU for Ukraine over the next four years. This decision was made in the context of tensions raised by Budapest regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in the Transcarpathia region and the European Commission’s blocking of EU funds for Hungary, whose government is accused by Brussels of violating the rule of law.”
