Toilet diplomacy in Brussels. In the background, Orban and EUR 50 billion for Ukraine. “It’s not serious”

On the table is a package of EUR 50 billion until 2027 and an offer for the head of the Hungarian government, which is to allow him to walk away if he supports the package. Viktor Orban demands the right to veto the approval of expenditure for each subsequent year for Ukraine, but this is not agreed to by other countries, which believe that predictability and stability of financing are necessary and that decisions should be made by a majority vote. The draft conclusions for the summit also include a paragraph stating that the European Commission will present annual reports on how Ukraine uses the funds and there will be annual summit debates on this topic.

Will they ask Orban to go to the toilet?

The failure of the aid package would be a serious blow to Kiev and would fuel doubts about the commitment of its EU allies, especially in a situation where US aid is stuck in Congress, he emphasizes. Perhaps the only solution will be for Viktor Orban to leave the hall during the vote. Just like it happened when the vote was taken to start accession negotiations with Ukraine in December last year. Olaf Scholz then asked the Hungarian Prime Minister to “go drink coffee outside the meeting room.” Orban agreed to this, allowing EU leaders to make a historic “unanimous decision”.

“In order to do anything in the European Union now, we clearly need to get Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban out of the room,” writes “Politico” and suggests that a similar variant could also be used during today’s summit. “Can’t the EU just lock the Hungarian leader in the toilet? How many toilet trips can the EU force Orbán to make?” – wonders the portal, which writes about “toilet diplomacy” and calls the Hungarian leader a “thorn in the side of the EU”. – The aid package must be adopted unanimously by the Council of the European Union (…) This is not a loophole, but a strategic use of consensus, which allows one of the parties to abstain from voting without preventing the others from taking further action – he explains in an interview with ” Politico” law professor Alberto Alemanno. – It seems unhealthy for members of the European Council to tolerate Orbán’s enforcement of such practices. It is not serious – adds Laurent Pech, dean of law at the University of Dublin.

Growing irritation in the EU. Tusk: A test for Orban

There is irritation in European capitals with Viktor Orban’s behavior, anger that he is blocking decisions again and wants to blackmail the EU by demanding concessions in important decisions, such as unblocking funds for Hungary. There is also a determination to approve the package for Ukraine.

Viktor Orban will certainly face a very difficult test, but one way or another, we will find some solution, with or without Orban, to support Ukraine, but we would feel better if the unity of the Union was preserved

– Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a few days ago. And this is also the reason why so far the twenty-six have not yet agreed on a package for Ukraine, outside the EU budget, guaranteeing loans on financial markets. Moreover, implementing such a solution will take a long time, and Ukraine needs the money by March, otherwise it will go bankrupt.

Viktor Orban is already in Brussels. He doesn’t talk about his intentions. However, he met with protesting farmers and once again criticized Brussels and the EU, and posted the video on the X website – It is a European mistake that the voices of people on the street are not taken into account – said Viktor Orban.

In turn, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is optimistic about the agreement between all twenty-seven. – We are negotiating, which is already progress compared to the previous time, when Viktor Orban did not want to talk and only kept saying “no”, said the head of the Estonian government. At the last summit in December, the Hungarian Prime Minister did not agree to approve the financial package for Ukraine and then it was decided to postpone the decision until the next summit.

“If Ukraine fails, Russia will try to attack other countries”

“Anxiety levels are high in many capitals as Putin’s expansionist ambitions for the West have made support for Ukraine’s war effort an existential issue,” said one senior EU official, quoted by Bloomberg.

– If Ukraine fails, Russia will feel strengthened and will try to attack other countries, warned European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday in Washington. If member states fail to save the agreement with Hungary, it could also create a strong impulse to punish Orban for his obstructive actions. “One of the options considered would be to suspend Hungary’s voting rights by taking a drastic step in the form of activating Article 7 of the EU treaties – (the Council of the EU determines the risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values ​​of the Union and allows for the possibility of suspending membership rights – ed.), although some countries They are afraid of taking such a confrontational step.