Europe scrambles to avoid Hungarian veto ahead of key summit
A summit of European leaders next week was touted as a historic gathering, where EU heads of state and government would greenlight opening accession talks with Ukraine and approve a €50bn financial aid package for Kyiv.
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, long known for rhetorically opposing the bloc’s policies on Ukraine and Russia – despite over the past two years ultimately backing many of them – has said he would block the decisions.
Orbán had argued over the past days that the issue of Ukraine’s accession shouldn’t even be on the agenda next week. Now, European leaders are rushing to try to resolve the matter ahead of the summit.
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‘Great meeting’ with Macron, Hungarian leader says
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said this morning that he had a “great” meeting with France’s Emmanuel Macron in Paris last night.
The session was part of efforts to avoid an embarrassing end to a key summit of EU leaders next week, where the heads of state and government were set to approve new funding for Ukraine and the beginning of accession talks with Kyiv – moves Hungary’s prime minister had said he opposes.
Yesterday, Orbán also spoke on the phone with Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. The Hungarian leader said his “message was clear: we should refrain from discussing the issue of Ukraine’s EU accession during the December [European Council summit], as there is no unity among member states on this matter.”
Europe scrambles to avoid Hungarian veto ahead of key summit
A summit of European leaders next week was touted as a historic gathering, where EU heads of state and government would greenlight opening accession talks with Ukraine and approve a €50bn financial aid package for Kyiv.
The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, long known for rhetorically opposing the bloc’s policies on Ukraine and Russia – despite over the past two years ultimately backing many of them – has said he would block the decisions.
Orbán had argued over the past days that the issue of Ukraine’s accession shouldn’t even be on the agenda next week. Now, European leaders are rushing to try to resolve the matter ahead of the summit.
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