International

Orbán challenges EU unity on Ukraine talks

In a pivotal evening encounter between Viktor Orbán and Emmanuel Macron regarding the Hungarian leader's opposition to commencing negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova for European Union accession, the outcome remains uncertain at this moment.

Viktor Orbán, the sole dissenting voice among the 27 EU leaders opposing the renewal of sanctions against Russia and the initiation of accession talks with Ukraine (and implicitly with Moldova), met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

Macron hosted Orbán for dinner on Thursday night, aiming to reach a compromise before the upcoming summit in Brussels next week. During this summit, EU leaders are poised to make a historic decision regarding the inclusion of Ukraine and Moldova among the 27 nations and finalise a key budgetary agreement that could allocate an additional 50 billion euros for Kyiv's war economy.

However, Orbán threatens to derail next week's summit, declaring in two letters addressed to European Council President Charles Michel that he opposes accession negotiations with Kyiv. Instead, he advocates only for a "strategic debate" on the Union's support for Ukraine.

Charles Michel, tasked with finding compromises between leaders, has already visited Budapest for discussions with Orbán. He even interrupted his visit to Beijing for the EU-China summit to persuade Orbán to reach a compromise.

This has led to a situation where EU leaders hope that Orbán is merely seeking more funds for Hungary, a notion deemed "optimistic." The entire situation underscores the need for a profound reform in the EU, specifically abandoning the unanimity principle that allows a small country like Hungary to block an entire collective European diplomatic mechanism by exercising its veto power. Translation by Iurie Tataru

Signed by: Dan Alexe

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