Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (center left) is shaking hands with French President Emmanuel Macron at the European Union (EU) summit held in Brussels, Belgium, on the 14th (local time). Prime Minister Orban previously announced that he would oppose Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but on this day, he left the meeting for a while with prior consent, and the start of Ukraine’s accession negotiations was confirmed with the unanimous consent of the leaders of the remaining 26 countries. /yunhap news
The European Union (EU) summit held in Brussels, Belgium on the 14th (local time) decided to begin EU accession negotiations for Ukraine, which is at war with Russia. However, a more important issue, financial support for Ukraine, failed. This is because Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban cleared the way for Ukraine to join the EU by abstaining from voting, but failed to reach a deal by maintaining his opposition on the issue of financial support. There are concerns that the two-faced behavior of Orbán, who has blatantly sided with Russia despite being a member of the EU and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), has cast a shadow over Ukraine, which is entering a cold period.
Charles Michel, permanent chairman of the EU Summit, announced on social media Moldova is a former Soviet country bordering southwestern Ukraine. As the country was mentioned as the next target of Russia’s Vladimir Putin regime that invaded Ukraine, the pro-Western government has been actively pushing for EU membership.
The start of Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations was a ‘surprise result’ that overcame concerns that “passage would not be easy due to opposition from Hungary.” This is because Orban had clearly expressed his opposition until the day before, saying, “It will further aggravate the confrontation between Russia and the EU, do not serve the interests of the EU as a whole, and could cause serious losses to Hungary.” Since important issues in the EU are decided unanimously by member states, if even one member state objects, it is inevitable that the EU will be left stranded.
However, Prime Minister Orbán briefly vacated the conference hall just before the vote, and the leaders of the remaining 26 countries passed the agenda unanimously. He later announced on Facebook that he had abstained, saying, “I did not want to participate in a wrong decision,” but in the end, it paved the way for Ukraine’s rapid accession to the EU. The New York Times reported that the person who recommended Orbán to leave the meeting to allow this situation to occur was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Orbán maintained his position and maintained his opposition to the EU’s financial support agenda for Ukraine, ultimately defeating it. European media such as Euronews reported that “the leaders discussed the issue of passing a 50 billion euro (approximately 71 trillion won) support package for Ukraine past midnight until the early morning of the 15th, but Orbán thoroughly maintained his opposing opinion.” Standing Chairman Michel also expressed his discomfort at Orbán at a press conference, saying, “A leader did not agree to support Ukraine.” EU leaders decided to convene a summit as early as next month to re-promote Ukraine’s financial support plan.
Through this meeting, Orban made some concessions, but also showed clear opposition to the EU agreement. Some interpretations were that “Hungary sent a message to both Russia and the EU.” While emphasizing his pro-Russian stance to Putin by saying, “I am working hard for Russia’s interests,” he is demanding additional “deals” from the EU to maximize his own interests.
Orbán is already reaping results. He received a promise to pay 10.2 billion euros, part of the total 30 billion euros in economic support from the EU, which had been withheld on the grounds that he had been acting against the spirit of the EU by suppressing the press and attempting to take over the judiciary. There are predictions that the EU and Hungary will engage in fierce negotiations over the remaining 19.8 billion euros. Hungary has put the brakes on not only Ukraine’s accession to the EU, but also Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its neutral policy and applied for NATO membership immediately after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. When Türkiye took an opposing stance, saying that Sweden was protecting anti-Türkiye terrorist groups, Hungary also sided with Türkiye. Euro News analyzed, “Hungary continues to oppose key European issues and is trying to maximize its own interests.”
Although financial support fell through, many people say that the decision to start Ukraine’s accession negotiations was a great achievement for Ukraine’s security. Major foreign media reported, “This is a very encouraging result at a time when the West is feeling fatigued from supporting Ukraine due to the prolongation of the war.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said to
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2023-12-15 13:11:00
