Summary of the day
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán reiterated his opposition to opening EU accession talks with Kyiv, but also hinted at an openness toward compromising on other issues.
In an interview with Le Point, the Hungarian prime minister insisted that Budapest opposes opening accession talks because Ukraine is not ready and due to the economic impact on the EU.
Orbán also called Ukraine “one of the most corrupt countries in the world”.
The European Commission is expected to soon release €10bn in withheld EU funds for Hungary, despite concern from some MEPs and civil society groups.
Belgium’s prime minister, 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 MEP Katalin Cseh, a member of Hungary’s Momentum party, said Orbán was “serving as the Russian Trojan horse at the European negotiating table”.
Zuzana Čaputová, Slovakia’s progressive president, said she would probably veto fast-track government plans to scrap a special prosecutor’s office and weaken whistleblower protection.
EU ministers agreed to support Nadia Calviño, Spain’s deputy prime minister, as the next president of the European Investment Bank.
A number of senior European figures have welcomed Armenia and Azerbaijan’s statement yesterday that they will move towards normalising relations and exchange prisoners.
Updated
Orbán is 'Russian Trojan horse', opposition politician says
Hungary’s opposition has criticised prime minister Viktor Orbán’s stance on Ukraine ahead of a key EU summit next week.
“Once again, Viktor Orbán is serving as the Russian Trojan horse at the European negotiating table, following Putin’s bidding and undermining the interests and unity of the EU,” said the MEP Katalin Cseh, a member of Hungary’s Momentum party.
She told the Guardian:
Ukrainians are bravely fighting and sacrificing their lives because they aspire to a European future. It is morally reprehensible for any EU leader to deny them this perspective, and Orbán stands as the sole leader doing so.
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Slovak president says she would probably veto controversial legal changes
Zuzana Čaputová, Slovakia’s progressive president, said today that she would probably veto fast-track government plans to scrap a special prosecutor’s office and weaken whistleblower protection, Reuters reported.
Populist prime minister Robert Fico’s government has faced intense criticism over the plans, with critics saying they undermine the rule of law.
Read more here about the controversy.
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European officials welcome deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia
A number of senior European figures have welcomed Armenia and Azerbaijan’s statement yesterday that they will move towards normalising relations and exchange prisoners.
“There is a historic chance to achieve peace in the region,” said the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.
North Macedonia’s foreign minister, Bujar Osmani, said it “is exactly the sort of positive step forward needed on the path to sustainable peace”.
Latvia’s Krišjānis Kariņš, who is one of the possible candidates to become the next Nato secretary general, said the joint statement “is a significant step towards trust and peace, so necessary for the entire region and beyond”.
EU welcomes the joint statement by #Armenia & #Azerbaijan announcing the mutual release of detainees & other confidence building measures-an important political step
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) December 7, 2023
We concur - there is a historic chance to achieve peace in the region &are committed to supporting these efforts
Yesterday’s joint statement by #Armenia & #Azerbaijan is exactly the sort of positive step forward needed on the path to sustainable peace.
— Bujar Osmani (@Bujar_O) December 8, 2023
The @OSCE stands ready to help as a platform for continued dialogue & as an implementation partner for agreements.
The joint statement between #Armenia and #Azerbaijan is a significant step towards trust and peace, so necessary for the entire region and beyond. It reconfirms 🇦🇲🇦🇿 intention to normalise relations and reach the peace treaty.
— Krišjānis Kariņš (@krisjaniskarins) December 8, 2023
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Ukraine’s Hungarians in spotlight as Orbán threatens to block EU accession
The dispute over language and other rights for the Hungarian community in Zakarpattia has poisoned relations between Kyiv and Budapest for years.
Viktor Orbán’s nationalist government has poured money into the region, offering financial subsidies for local Hungarians, as well as passports, technically illegal in Ukraine. The newly minted Hungarian citizens then tend to vote overwhelmingly for Orbán’s Fidesz party in elections.
Hungarian state television frequently complains about the repression of Hungarians in Ukraine, often in terminology that echoes Russian propaganda about Ukraine.
Despite this shrill rhetoric, the complaints about language rights are not entirely without foundation, and European bodies have repeatedly criticised Ukraine for its policies on minority languages, particularly after the passage of a 2017 law that restricted the use of languages other than Ukrainian, a move aimed at lessening the influence of the Russian language that also affected Hungarian and Romanian communities.
On Friday, Ukraine’s parliament will discuss a law that answers many of Budapest’s concerns about language rights, part of a deal to smooth the way towards EU accession. It will allow schools in Hungarian areas to teach all classes in Hungarian, except for classes in Ukrainian language, literature and history.
But just as Ukraine acts to do what Budapest for years has being asking for, Orbán appears to have moved the goalposts, threatening to block Ukraine’s accession anyway. One diplomatic source said: “It shows that the language concerns have been bogus all along. This is not about language rights, this is about a dislike of Ukraine and a desire to curry favour with Putin.”
David Pressman, the US ambassador in Budapest, said:
We take the treatment of ethnic Hungarians and all ethnic minorities in Ukraine seriously. In meetings at the seniormost levels in Hungary, I have repeatedly offered the United States’ assistance to help address concerns of our Ally Hungary with our close partner Ukraine.
Our understanding is that the Ukrainian government is engaging with all stakeholders to resolve this issue.
For an issue that is of such prominence in the government of Hungary’s political communications, it is noteworthy that not a single official has taken the United States up on our offer to help them actually address it.
Read the full story here.
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Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who has worked over the past few years to build relationships with other far-right figures across the globe, will be attending the inauguration of Argentina’s Javier Milei this weekend.
🇦🇷🤝🇭🇺@PM_ViktorOrban traveled from Paris to Buenos Aires on Friday to attend the inauguration of Argentina's new President, @JMilei, scheduled for December 10th. During his two-day visit, Orbán will engage in several bilateral talks, including a separate meeting with… pic.twitter.com/PJquMoruS3
— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) December 8, 2023
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Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has congratulated Nadia Calviño, who is set to become the first woman to lead the European Investment Bank
La designación de @NadiaCalvino como presidenta del Banco Europeo de Inversiones es una magnífica noticia para Europa y un orgullo para España.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) December 8, 2023
Será la primera mujer que presida el @EIB desde su fundación. Un reconocimiento a su extraordinaria trayectoria, rigor y liderazgo de…
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'We have always found a solution,' Belgian leader says amid concern about Hungarian veto
Asked what message it would send to the world if the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, carried 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.
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European Commission set to unlock part of frozen Hungarian funds
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.
Orbán doubles down on opposition to Ukraine accession talks but signals flexibility on other issues
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.
Margrethe Vestager, one of the Danish candidates to lead the European Investment Bank, said she had withdrawn from the race and would return to her job as a European commissioner.
— Margrethe Vestager (@vestager) December 8, 2023
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EU ministers back Spain's Calviño for EIB
EU ministers today agreed to support Nadia Calviño, Spain’s deputy prime minister, as the next president of the European Investment Bank.
EU Finance Ministers agree to support the candidacy of @NadiaCalvino as new president of the @EIB (1/2)
— Vincent Van Peteghem (@vincent_v_p) December 8, 2023
'Great meeting' with Macron, Hungarian leader says
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.”
Had a great meeting yesterday with President @EmmanuelMacron in Paris. The Hungarian position is clear ahead of the December #EUCO. You can read it in @LePoint :https://t.co/IkYaKdxKvY pic.twitter.com/PfhrkHr8QC
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) December 8, 2023
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Europe scrambles to avoid Hungarian veto ahead of key summit
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.
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