EU scrambles to avoid Hungarian veto ahead of key summit – Europe live | Europe

Asked what message it would send to the world if Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán carries out his threat to veto the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, the prime minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, said the European Council chief Charles Michel and other EU leaders were “doing the necessary” things to ensure a “productive Council next week”.

The Belgian prime minister added:

We have had difficult moments in the past and we have always found a solution. It is crucial that the EU continues our support to Ukraine on the financial and on the military side.

European Commission set to unlock part of frozen Hungarian funds

Lisa O’Carroll

The European Commission is expected to release €10bn in withheld EU funds on Tuesday next week, about a third of Hungary’s total suspended funding.

But diplomats insist it is not because of “blackmailing” by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who has repeatedly threatened to block the negotiations of the talks on accession to the EU at a summit of leaders next Thursday and Friday.

“The timing is unfortunate because it looks like horsetrading, but it is not,” said one diplomat.

Sources say the European Commission can do nothing about the timing as Hungary has complied with the requested judiciary reforms needed to unlock part of the suspended funds. The rest of the funding would remain frozen due to a lack of compliance with other rule of law criteria.

“For the first time Hungary has actually been responding to our requests and it has done everything in relation to judicial independence, so the money will be released,” said a source.

Four conditions in relation to the independence of the judiciary were set out last December, and the Hungarian government has said it has met the Commission’s requests.

Nevertheless, Hungarian civil society and groups, as well as a number of MEPs, say Hungary has not actually fully completed the reforms.

In an interview with Le Point during his visit to Paris yesterday, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán reiterated his opposition to opening EU accession talks with Kyiv, but also hinted at an openness toward compromising on other issues.

He insisted that Hungary opposes opening accession talks because Ukraine is not ready and due to the economic impact on the EU.

The Hungarian prime minister challenged the European Commission’s assessment that Ukraine has made progress.

Ukraine is known as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This is a joke! We cannot take the decision to start an accession negotiation process.

Orbán also argued that accepting Ukraine would mean extra costs toward the EU budget – and deep implications for agricultural policy.

Ukraine is a large country, with an important agricultural sector. If you let this agriculture enter the European agricultural system, it will destroy it the next day. Without transforming our system of agricultural subsidies, we can’t let them in. The consequences will be terrible.

But he did signal flexibility on other policy matters. Asked if he is totally inflexible, even if the European Commission unfreezes 10 billion euros for Hungary, the prime minister said:

When a dilemma arises, I usually classify it into three categories: historical, strategic and tactical. The Ukrainian question is a historical question, a question of magnitude. The financial question is a tactical one. My experience of over forty years in politics has taught me that you must never link technical issues such as money with historical challenges. If you do, you risk total chaos. That’s why I don’t want to reach an agreement on the Ukrainian question, but I remain fully prepared to do so on other issues.

EU ministers today agreed to support Nadia Calviño, Spain’s deputy prime minister, as the next president of the European Investment Bank.

The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said this morning that he had a “great” meeting with France’s Emmanuel Macron in Paris last night.

The session was part of efforts to avoid an embarrassing end to a key summit of EU leaders next week, where the heads of state and government were set to approve new funding for Ukraine and the beginning of accession talks with Kyiv – moves Hungary’s prime minister had said he opposes.

Yesterday, Orbán also spoke on the phone with Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. The Hungarian leader said his “message was clear: we should refrain from discussing the issue of Ukraine’s EU accession during the December [European Council summit], as there is no unity among member states on this matter.”

A summit of European leaders next week was touted as a historic gathering, where EU heads of state and government would greenlight opening accession talks with Ukraine and approve a €50bn financial aid package for Kyiv.

The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, long known for rhetorically opposing the bloc’s policies on Ukraine and Russia – despite over the past two years ultimately backing many of them – has said he would block the decisions.

Orbán had argued over the past days that the issue of Ukraine’s accession shouldn’t even be on the agenda next week. Now, European leaders are rushing to try to resolve the matter ahead of the summit.

Good morning and welcome to the Europe blog.

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