Orbán sparked outrage – This is now the EU’s silent Plan B

The European Union was powerless on Thursday to translate the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbánin head. This did not yield to the 90 billion euro support loan promised to Ukraine, so a vital decision for a country fighting a defensive war was postponed to the future.

“Hungary’s position is simple. We are ready to support Ukraine when we get our oil, which they have blocked,” Orbán said on Thursday when he arrived at the EU summit. He refers to the Družba oil pipeline, which Ukraine says has been damaged by a Russian attack and therefore prevented deliveries.

The pent-up rage from the activities of the anti-beach brawl also erupted in public, EU leaders one after the other condemning Orbán’s behavior.

Hungary’s solution was publicly rejected by, among others, the president of the European Council Antonio CostaOrbán’s face now crossed the “red line”which no EU leader has broken before, by blocking an already mutually agreed package. The German chancellor was on the same lines as Costa Friedrich Merz.

“It was really, really harsh criticism,” said the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson from the directors’ meeting according to the online magazine Politico.

“I have never heard such harsh criticism of anyone at the EU meeting.”

According to Orbán himself, he was “pressured from all sides”.

This is now the EU’s only hope

Despite the robbery, Orbán withstood the pressure and “won” the battle for the bailout, Politico explains. But the victory may be short-lived, the magazine continues, and “at the next summit, he may be just a distant memory.”

The latter remark refers to Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections in April. There are also elections According to the Euractiv website now the EU’s next – if not the last – hope.

“The EU leaders don’t say it out loud, but they now have a clear plan to bypass the obstacle created by Viktor Orbán to the Ukrainian bailout: Hungary’s upcoming elections,” the paper writes.

The elections are extraordinary, because the position of Orbán, who has led his country continuously since 2010 as prime minister, is now genuinely threatened. Challenger Péter Magyarin The Tisza party leads the ruling Fidesz in the polls. In the EU, it is hoped that Orbán would be sidelined and that the Ukraine solutions would be easier in the Union after the elections.

Also according to Politico, the EU now trusts that the situation will change one way or another after the election day, i.e. April 12. If Orbán loses, his successor may be more willing to accept the aid loan, and on the other hand, Orbán himself might also give the green light to the aid package after winning the election – as long as the oil also starts flowing. For other options, the EU is tuning new punishments for the next summit at the end of April.

EU leaders want to avoid direct intervention in Hungary’s election campaign at all costs, an EU diplomat tells Euractiv.

According to Euractiv, as well as the EU’s foreign policy representative Kaja Kalla that the Prime Minister of Belgium Bart De Wever referred to the existence of plan B during the day on Thursday, but did not want to open the backup plan in more detail. However, the EU has gone through various options to solve the Hungarian problem, but in practice had to reject them all, the newspaper says.

Orbán and Fidesz have chosen smearing Ukraine and scaring Hungarians with the consequences of supporting Ukraine as the top of their election campaign. Orbán and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi have engaged in a fierce war of words in public, where Zelensky’s rhetoric has also aroused surprise and criticism. According to Politico, Zelenskyi attacked Orbán more forcefully than EU leaders would have expected on Thursday as well, while participating in the summit via video link.

Funding for Ukraine’s defense battle is at risk due to the delay in the EU support loan, but the eight billion euro loan recently granted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will carry the country until May, according to Politico.