The EU threatens Hungary - ready to collapse the country's economy

 

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Details: EU threatens Hungary - will sabotage the country's economy

 

Hungary opens to say yes - wants a veto  

 

Anna Sjogren  

 

Updated 14.46 | Published 14.38  

 

The EU will ruin Hungary's economy if the country does not agree to a new aid package for Ukraine.  

 

This is evident from secret documents that the Financial Times has seen. 

 

- The stakes are high. It is blackmail, says an EU diplomat to the newspaper.  

 

The EU has proposed a new economic aid package of 50 billion euros for Ukraine over the next four years. The proposal has so far been blocked by Hungary.  

 

But now the Union's patience with the country seems to have run out. Secret documents threaten to sabotage Hungary's economy if the country does not accept the new support package by the meeting on February 1 at the latest, the Financial Times reports. 

 

In the document, a strategy has been drawn up where it is described how to target Hungary's economic weaknesses, such as very high inflation and national debt.  

 

The plan is to damage the country's currency and lower investor confidence to hurt jobs and growth – if Hungary doesn't budge.  

 

The plan includes other leaders in the union advocating cutting off all EU-funded support to the country with the aim of scaring the markets. Without the support, investors are expected to be less interested in investing in the country, according to the Financial Times.  

 

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT  

 

"Time to straighten up"  

 

According to three EU diplomats, "many" countries are behind the plan. One of them calls it outright extortion.  

 

- What kind of union do we have that allows this kind of behavior, says another of them, referring to Hungary's block of the aid package.  

 

Mujtaba Rahman, director of the consulting firm Eurasia Group, comments on the leaked document. 

 

- This is Europe telling Viktor Orbán that enough is enough, it's time to get in line. You may have a gun, but we have the bazooka, he told the newspaper.  

 

Hungary's EU Minister János Bóka tells the Financial Times that the Hungarian side is not aware of the economic threat, but states that the country will not give in to "pressure".  

 

- Hungary does not establish any connection between support for Ukraine and access to EU support, and distances itself from other parties that do so. Hungary has and will participate constructively in the negotiations.  

 

At the same time, the country is now open to supporting the aid package if it receives an annual veto for the payments. Something that several EU countries have already opposed.  

 

The EU has not commented on the data. A spokesperson told the Financial Times that it does not comment on leaks. 

 

Viktor Orbán. Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP

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