Orban Has To Leave

• DIANE FRANCIS
• 19.12.2023, 12:39

Another turn of the roller coaster.

The other day, the gambit to get Putin's pal Viktor Orbán of Hungary to leave the room worked yesterday and led to agreement by 26 of the EU’s 27 members that Ukraine could begin talks to join the European Union. But at 3 a.m. Orban vetoed a planned €50 billion financial package for Ukraine.

European Council President Charles Michel said another summit would be convened in early January to seek approval for the funding and that funds had already been found. According to The New York Times “if Mr. Orbán continues to block the funds, the EU can still create a trust with the other 26 member countries, which have all signaled their approval. But doing so would be cumbersome.”

Orbán is a corrupt dictator who controls the Hungarian media and most local politicians, businessmen and judges. The EU has withheld him funding due to his violation of European values, but this week released half of that €20 billion to get him to allow talks on Ukraine's accession to the EU. And now this. “I am confident that we will be able to achieve a breakthrough early next year,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters. “They still have time. Ukraine is not out of money in the next couple of weeks.”

Such “blackmail” on the part of Orbán, as well as his other misdeeds and obstructionism bordering on sabotage, could lead to the suspension of Hungary’s membership in the EU. There is no exclusion clause yet, but under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, EU membership can be suspended (by a four-fifths majority) if a Member seriously breaches the principles defined in Article 2 of the Treaty. These include respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law. Even if "kicked out" from the EU, Hungary will still have to fulfil its financial and other obligations as a member of the union, but will not have voting rights.

Also, the US Senate Democratic caucus postponed holidays in the hopes of devising a compromise concerning the border to free up funds for Ukraine. If that does not succeed, the White House has free funds that will continue to flow into Ukraine for several more weeks.

Equally worrying is the fact that Hungary is a potential Kremlin saboteur in NATO, another institution based on the principle of unanimity. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism for suspending membership in the organization, only voluntary withdrawal.

For Ukrainians, this is another turn of the roller coaster, and now, according to Ukrainian politician Kira Rudik, everyone’s mood is “bittersweet.” There was euphoria about joining the EU, but, she said, without funding, “it is impossible to have a European future without winning the war.”

Diane Francis, substack.com