“FT”: The EU wants to put a lot of pressure on Orban by hitting the economy. Forint reacted

The British “Financial Times” wrote about the complete blocking of EU funds, investors turning away from Hungary, and the collapse of confidence in financial markets, which would lead to a decline in the Hungarian currency and put the economy into even greater trouble. This is what the EU’s plan to hit the Hungarian economy would look like in order to force Budapest to agree to a financial package for Ukraine.

EU official: This is just an information note

A senior EU official told Brussels correspondents that there was no plan that member states were currently working on. – The document referred to is only an information note prepared by the secretariat of the EU Council regarding the Hungarian economy – said an EU official. He noted that this document does not reflect the state of ongoing negotiations, nor is it any specific plan regarding Hungary. “Of course, a high-ranking EU official involved in negotiations regarding the financial package for Ukraine and attempts to convince the authorities in Budapest does not have to tell the full truth. But the article in the Financial Times also seems to be a bit exaggerated. (…) You can guess that that someone wanted the article to put even more pressure on Hungary, which was confirmed by the fluctuations of the forint after publication,” writes Beata Płomecka from Polish Radio in correspondence in Brussels. How important EU funds are for Hungary at the moment is evidenced by the fact that the unblocking of some of them a month ago forced the authorities in Budapest to make changes to the judiciary.

Talks between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary

Meanwhile, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto went to Ukraine. This is his first visit to this country since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. One of the topics of discussion between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Hungary is the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia. It is also expected that the head of Hungarian diplomacy will make a clear declaration regarding Budapest unblocking another EU aid package for Kiev. The rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine have long been a point of contention between the authorities of both countries. – I would like to point out at the beginning that the Hungarian government has never demanded any rights for Hungarians from Transcarpathia that did not exist before 2015 – said Minister Peter Szijjarto in the leaked recording of the meeting. During the talks, representatives of Ukraine and Hungary will also prepare the ground for Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s visit to Kiev and his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.