Their plan for the EU: An anti-Ukraine group

EU

Anti-Ukraine group underway in the EU

Joachim Kerpner

Updated 13.59 | Published 09.32

 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

Hungary wants to create a Ukraine-skeptic group within the EU, consisting of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

This is stated by a high-ranking Hungarian politician.

– That is how we were able to resist during the refugee crisis, says Balazs Orban.

Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakia with Prime Minister Robert Fico at the helm have previously distinguished themselves for a pro-Russian and Ukraine-negative stance.

Recently, the right-wing nationalist party of the similarly Ukraine-skeptic Andrej Babis won the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic. He has not yet formed a government, but is expected to be able to rely on parties that have a similar stance.

 

Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia. Photo: Denes Erdos/AP

In an interview with the news site  Politico, Balazs Orban, who has the title of political director and works directly under Viktor Orban, now says that an anti-Ukrainian bloc will certainly be formed within the EU:

- And it will become more and more visible, he says.

"So we could resist"

Balazs Orban believes that the anti-Ukrainian group will be formed in the European Council - where the EU's heads of government meet - and will act in the same way as the so-called Visegrad 4 group during the refugee wave in 2015.

At that time, Poland - at that time governed by the eurosceptic Law and Justice party - together with Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic advocated for strengthened EU borders. The group also refused to accept proposals to distribute newly arrived refugees within the EU.

– It worked very well during the refugee crisis. That's how we were able to resist, Balazs Orban tells Politico.

 

Andrej Babis will try to form a government in the Czech Republic. Photo: Petr David Josek/AP

Will try to form a government

Yesterday, Monday, the Czech president tasked Andrej Babis with trying to form a government. He will primarily try to get a coalition of his own party Ano (which means "yes"), the immigration and EU-negative Freedom and Direct Democracy party and the right-wing nationalist Promise of the Drivers,  Reuters reports .