FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in.
It took a months-long charm offensive from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and a few dinners from the French to get Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to agree to support sending 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine.
When Orbán continued to defend his positions in meetings with Mellon and Macron on Wednesday night, as soon as he arrived at the European Council, he was told very bluntly: "We are suspending you from the life of the Union, we are taking away your right to voters, let's raise your country, let's be serious."
After that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that he had "hit a wall" for his country before agreeing a day earlier to a European Union deal to increase aid to Ukraine and avoid the risk of losing dedicated EU funds for Budapest from the common fund.
European Union leaders unanimously decided on Thursday to provide 50 billion euros in new aid to Ukraine, sending a message to the US, which is divided on whether to continue supporting Kiev in its fight against Russian occupation.
The agreement was reached surprisingly quickly after weeks of resistance from Hungary, which has refused to send weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war and whose relations with Ukraine have been damaged by tensions over the position of some 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine. .
In a regular interview with state radio on Friday, where he addresses the domestic audience, Orbán said that the agreement reached on Thursday was good.
"I hit a wall," Orbán said.
"If this agreement had not been reached and Hungary had continued to use its veto, then 26 member states would have agreed to send money to Ukraine... and they would have withdrawn the funds intended for Hungary and they would send them to Ukraine - why would that be good," added Orbán.
He said that Hungary does not send arms to Ukraine, receives its money from Brussels and will contribute to the civilian financing of Ukraine.
After granting Hungary access to several tranches of EU funds in December, the European Commission is still withholding some 20 billion euros earmarked for Budapest amid accusations that Orbán has obstructed democracy during his 13 years in power.
The Hungarian prime minister criticized the EU's financial and military support for Kiev and maintained ties with the Kremlin after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, RSE reports.
Lini një Përgjigje