Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated Thursday the European Fee is blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions in frozen funds over rule-of-law issues.
Orbán stated the blackmail is “a truth,” even admitted by the blackmailers themselves — members of the European Parliament.
“In our view, Hungary fulfils all of the qualities of the rule of legislation, and when the European Fee has particular wants, we implement all the pieces from them, and we’re additionally cooperative,” Orbán advised reporters in Budapest throughout a press convention. “You can not blame me for doing all the pieces I can to advertise Hungary’s pursuits in such a blackmailed state of affairs.”
Orbán’s authorities has been embroiled in a long-standing dispute with Brussels, which has frozen billions of EU funds supposed for Hungary over issues about human rights and the rule of legislation within the nation.
Final week, the European Fee unblocked €10.2 billion in frozen EU cohesion funds earmarked for Hungary.
The fee stated the timing of the funding launch — which got here only a day earlier than the European Council, the place Orbán was threatening to dam the beginning of Ukraine’s accession talks to the EU and an extra help bundle to Kyiv — was coincidental. However many EU politicians have warned Brussels to not give in to what they understand as blackmail from the Hungarian chief.
In the long run, Orbán did a U-turn and allowed EU leaders to approve the beginning of negotiations for Ukraine to affix the bloc.
There may be more cash at stake for Budapest and Orbán continues to be blocking a €50 billion help bundle for Kyiv, which leaders are set to debate early subsequent yr.