EU to Strip Hungary of Voting Rights to Give Ukraine €50 Billion
European Union countries are considering stripping Hungary and its President Viktor Orban of their voting rights in order to approve a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine in 2024-2027 without their participation, the Financial Times reports.
After daily blackmailing Orban to block any aid to Ukraine, the day before the EU leaders' summit in Brussels, the Commission agreed to release €10 billion of frozen funds to Hungary, claiming that it had put in place reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary. EU officials said that the concession was based on merit, but that the timing was right.
Orban and his allies have repeatedly said that his opposition to aid to Ukraine is not linked to EU funding for Hungary. But as the summit drew to a close on Friday, he finally named his price: paying the remaining €20 billion.
Some officials in Brussels are proposing to invoke the penalty procedure under Article 7 of the 2007 EU treaty for breaching the rule of law. This could lead to the suspension of Hungary's voting rights. Although this step could be blocked by any other EU member state, it is unlikely that such a country will be found. Theoretically, it could be Poland, but the recent change of government in that country has deprived Hungary of a "guaranteed protector".
According to the officials the FT spoke to, the EU's priority now is to persuade Orban to accept the funding, making clear to him the possibility of Hungary's complete isolation.
If this fails, the article notes, the 26 other EU members could strike a deal on their own, but this would take time and solve the problem only for the short term.
"Perhaps Hungary could create more problems and force us to use several different countermeasures. However, in the end, Hungary will not be able to stop us from providing money to Ukraine," said a senior EU official who attended the summit last week.
As The Gaze previously reported, on 3 October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting the European Commission's proposals to revise the EU's multiannual budget, which includes the creation of a special €50 billion Ukraine fund. However, Hungary was the only country to oppose this initiative.
To persuade Orban to approve the €50 billion aid to Ukraine, the EU will hold a special summit. The President of the European Council noted that the date of the special EU summit has not yet been confirmed, but it is known that it will take place in late January or early February.