Officials in Brussels have reportedly drawn up a secret plan to sabotage Hungary’s economy if Viktor Orbán decides this week to again block a €50bn support package for Ukraine.
The plan, reported by the Financial Times, reflects the fury mounting across European capitals at what one diplomat called the “policy of blackmail” being pursued by the Hungarian prime minister, who leads the bloc’s most pro-Russia state.
The FT said the strategy involved targeting Hungary’s economy, weakening its currency and reducing investor confidence.
Orbán blocked the €50bn in Ukraine funds in December, forcing an emergency leaders meeting to be scheduled on Thursday to revisit the matter.
There is no mechanism to throw Hungary out completely. The only mechanism for a member state to leave the EU is in the hands of that member state’s government.
So once you’ve suspended their voting rights, he goes fully into Putin’s arms and suddenly you’ve got an EU member state that is explicitly an agent of Russian foreign policy and doesn’t even make the pretense of being European anymore. That may still be the endpoint they need to arrive at, but cajoling him into compromises such as they did on opening Ukrainian membership talks - where Orban agreed to leave the room when the vote took place so didn’t need to vote in favour but wouldn’t block the unanimous vote that was needed - is still a better outcome for the EU and Ukraine.