Viktor Orban - En fiende av NATO og det vi står for - CNN

 Sjekk hele artikkelen her: http://tinyurl.com/36pukyk6

How Orban’s ties to Putin are putting European aid to Ukraine at risk

Analysis by Luke McGee, CNN

 6 minute read 

Published 12:05 AM EST, Sun January 28, 2024

Ukraine says it needs three things to win the war

00:50 - Source: CNN

CNN — 

From the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Hungary has been the weakest link in the West’s response. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has held up Kyiv’s membership negotiations with the EU, slow-walked aid deals and cast doubt on Ukraine’s capacity to defeat Russia.

That’s why there’s so much attention on a meeting on Monday between the foreign ministers of Hungary and Ukraine.

While both countries have been deliberately opaque about the purpose of the meeting in public statements, Western officials privately hope that it will provide some clarity on whether Hungary will drop its veto on a €50bn European Union support package for Ukraine that was supposed to be signed off in December.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at the time the reason he blocked the funds was because it was wrong for money in the EU budget to go outside the bloc.

Critics of Orban have pointed out that his objections could have something to do with the fact that Brussels is holding out on giving Hungary money from the very same budget because it has breached the EU’s rule of law requirements – fundamental values enshrined in the bloc’s treaties. Orban and members of his government have repeatedly denied that there is any connection between the two, or that they have breached EU rules.

But those same critics also note that Orban has a uniquely close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many Western officials believe that Orban is leveraging that relationship in order to bully his European allies by playing the part of a Kremlin stooge: Act tough on support for Ukraine, a key priority for most of Europe, in exchange for concessions in other areas.