Hungary's Orban Sets Sights On Overhauling European Bloc

"BRUSSELS -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, long a thorn in the side of the European Union, is now trying to upend its plans, using his veto in an effort to pry loose money and tilt EU policy.

At a European summit that dragged past 2 a.m. Friday, the nationalist-conservative who has led his country for 17 of the past 25 years was in his comfort zone, dominating EU policy by threatening to obstruct it. Listing objections to sending Hungary's money to Ukraine, the prime minister -- whose government gets far more from the EU than it pays in -- stymied a $54 billion aid package Kyiv was hoping would help keep its government running.

Orban has long fought legal and cultural battles with Brussels over EU policies and accused the bloc of trying to undermine Hungarian sovereignty. Now his bare-knuckle approach has thrown the EU's support for Ukraine into turmoil and threatens to derail the bloc's financial planning.

Orban's opposition to EU support for Ukraine is part of a broader nationalistic stance that for years complicated the bloc's decision-making. He has grabbed the EU's center stage by weaponizing the veto that each member has over votes on important issues. He relies on a dominant domestic political position, rising support for like-minded nationalist allies in Europe, and flourishing relationships with former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orban pitches himself as the pioneer of right-wing political force bent on overturning EU politics. Unlike the U.K., which left the EU in 2020, Orban wants to reshape it from within.

"Our plan is not to leave Brussels but to take it over," he recently told Hungarian media.

Orban in recent years has concentrated his powers at home, building what he called an "illiberal state," where courts and most media are under the control of his political allies. EU leaders who consider that system undemocratic have tried to force him to change by threatening to hit him where it hurts: For all his anti-EU rhetoric, his country is one of the largest per capita recipients of EU funds. But he has managed to curb those attempts by threatening to veto other European policies.

EU counterparts for years have dismissed Orban's veto threats as attempts to retain influence, while reaping EU funds. He has allowed sweeping EU restrictions on Russian gas imports to proceed, provided Hungary enjoys an exception. 

He has acquiesced to almost all sanctions on Russia and roughly 40 billion euros, or $43.58 billion, in EU aid.

"As long as he says the wrong things but does the right things, we are OK," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Friday.

Two years ago, EU officials thought they found a way to control Orban using new tools the bloc has to discipline members. They started withholding chunks of EU cash over what they said were violations of rules and EU budget procedures. Orban's critics say he has used EU money to bolster his Fidesz party's grip on political power. By December, the EU had blocked 30 billion euros in budget and pandemic-recovery funds. Orban responded by ratcheting up his vetoes of EU policies and statements.

EU pressure has had some results. Last week, it unblocked 10 billion euros in funds after Orban's government changed judicial laws that Brussels said violated EU rules. EU officials said the events showed the bloc can act to protect democracy.

Some of Orban's critics say the EU caved under his pressure and shouldn't have released the money." [1]

Hungarian leader Orban is right. Ukraine is a big country. We, the European Union, certainly cannot pay Ukraine's salaries for a long time. We need that money to compete with China and the US in the transition to artificial intelligence, solar and wind energy, and electricity and hydrogen energy carriers. We cannot destroy European industry just to pay salaries to Zelensky's bureaucrats and actors for a few months.

1. World News: Hungary's Orban Sets Sights On Overhauling European Bloc.Norman, Laurence; Michaels, Daniel.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 19 Dec 2023: A.7.