NEW YORK, February 1. /TASS/. The European Union’s leadership is ratcheting up various means of putting pressure on Hungary to approve financial aid for Kiev amid growing anxiety within the bloc about the risk of a conflict with Moscow in case of a Russian victory over the West’s proxy in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writes.
According to the authoritative US newspaper, EU leaders are threatening to strip Hungary of its vote on a number of issues and some EU funding unless Budapest relents in its Ukraine-skeptical stance and approves a 50 bln euro aid package for Kiev. "Behind those threats is growing concern in European capitals that Russian success in Ukraine could directly imperil the continent’s security," the WSJ article reads.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the military on January 19 that, "Russia’s victory would mean an end to European security." Shortly after, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the ZDF broadcaster that the West had three to five years left before a possible clash with Russia might break out. A senior EU official said ahead of an extraordinary EU leaders’ summit set to take place in Brussels on February 1 that the heads of European institutions had so far been unable to persuade Hungary to approve the EU’s latest Ukraine aid package.
At a Brussels meeting of EU leaders on December 14-15, 2023, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked amendments to the community’s 2024-2027 budget, which had called for granting 50 bln euros to Ukraine. Instead, he called for providing annual aid to Kiev outside of the EU budget and ensuring stringent controls over use of the funds. EU leaders will once again discuss the issue at their meeting on February 1.
Orban confirmed in an interview with France’s Le Point magazine on January 30 that Hungary had presented a compromise proposal to the EU, saying that funds could be allocated to Ukraine as long as the decision was approved annually.