Orbán's new mockery of the EU - goes Putin's business

 

Ursula von der Leyen
Orbán's mockery of the EU

Wolfgang Hansson

This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.

Published 18.09

Quick version

• Viktor Orban, Hungary's leader, has soured relations with the EU by trying to suspend financial aid to Ukraine and hoping for a Trump victory in the US election. This is contrary to the EU's and the USA's joint plan for long-term support for Ukraine.
• Orban is questioned for his leadership as the country holding the EU presidency. He discourages unity within the EU and has created diplomatic conflicts through unsolicited visits to Putin, Xi Jinping and Trump.
• Hungary under Orban has raised concerns within the EU about potential security risks by allowing Russian labor immigration, which could allow Russia to infiltrate the union with spies and saboteurs.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Photo: AP

There is more or less full-on war between Hungary's strongman Viktor Orbán and the rest of the EU.

Orbán does everything to anger the other EU leaders - and at the same time attends to Vladimir Putin's business.

His latest move is to delay financial aid to Ukraine pending a Trump victory in the US presidential election.

Relations between Hungary and the rest of the EU have long been strained. Now they are at an absolute rock bottom. This at the same time as Hungary is the country holding the EU's presidency and will lead the Union's work for the next six months.

The fears that Orbán would take over the presidency were great. But it looks like it will be even worse than many feared.

The EU and the US have agreed to use the interest from seized assets from the Russian central bank to buy weapons for Ukraine and support reconstruction efforts. It is about many billions and there is an important symbolism in the decision.

Accusing the EU

But now Orbán is throwing gravel into the machinery. Hungary wants to wait to approve the next payment until after the US presidential election. And they only want to make decisions for six months instead of a longer period that the EU Commission and the US have agreed upon.

Orbán accuses the EU of prolonging the war and instead wants the Union to work towards peace negotiations with Russia.

If Donald Trump is elected president, he hopes that the United States will sharply reduce or end its aid to Ukraine.

The EU fears a Trump victory, among other things, precisely for that reason. Therefore, they would like to get long-term support in place where they use the Russian yield with the hope that it will be difficult for Trump to tear up the deal.

The practice is that Hungary, as the presiding country, should take a neutral position to facilitate compromises. But that does not seem to be Orbán's attitude.

Orbán visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. Photo: X

Counteracts unity

Hungary's no is just the latest element in his almost farcical way of working against unity within the EU.

It already started last summer when Hungary formally took over the presidency. Without consulting any of the other European leaders, he traveled to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin representing the EU. Something the other EU leaders reacted very strongly against, because the practice was that Orbán had needed the approval of the others to greet Putin.

The next trip was to another of the EU's challengers, China's leader Xi Jinping. Even without him consulting the rest of the EU.

After that, Orbán traveled to visit Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

During this week's visit to the European Parliament, Orbán explained to the media that he will celebrate by opening several bottles of champagne if Trump returns to the White House.

It is clear that Orbán is trying to use his platform as the EU presidency to try to make himself the leader of the far right in Europe that achieved such great success in elections in the last year in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Austria. To name a few countries.

He hopes that together they will be able to change the direction of the EU.

- The EU needs to change, he declared in his speech after coining a slogan for Hungary's presidency that doesn't even try to hide his admiration for Trump, "Make Europe Great Again".

Another way to mock the Union.

Russian spies

Orbán has angered large parts of the rest of the EU in several ways.

• By allowing labor immigration from Russia, he has opened a path into the EU for Russians who would otherwise never have been allowed into the Union under current rules. Many fear that in this way Russia can let spies and saboteurs into Europe.
•  Although the EU hammered out a completely new package regarding asylum immigration before the summer, Hungary wants to tear it up. Orbán threatens to bus asylum seekers from Hungary to Brussels. Like the governor of Texas, refugees who have entered the United States are bussed across the Mexican border to large Democratic cities such as Chicago and New York and Philadelphia.

It is understandable that Orbán is upset that other EU countries have boycotted Hungary's presidency in a number of ways. Most countries' ministers have refused to go to meetings in Hungary. A traditional meeting of foreign ministers usually held in the new presidency country had to be moved to Brussels because almost no leaders were prepared to travel to Budapest.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has criticized Hungary harshly. Photo: AP

But the open confrontation is becoming a serious problem for Europe as many decisions require unanimity. Not least this applies to sanctions against Russia and support to Ukraine.

Ursula von der Leyen added fuel to the fire by pointing out that while most countries in the Ukraine war support the aggressor, Hungary supports the aggressor.

A statement that reflects how isolated Hungary has become despite the success of the extreme right in Europe. Most leaders who are ideologically close to Orbán are instead trying to change the EU from within. Like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who, despite leading a party with fascist roots, has very good relations with Ursula von der Leyen.

Orban hopes he will get revenge when and if Trump wins the election.