Kyiv pressures EU to open accession talks at Brussels summit
GuardianAUG 2023
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The EU's decision to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova is historic. Unfortunately, that Orbán vetoed the €50B Ukraine aid package against the rest of the EU proves yet again that the Hungarian nationalist leader is standing not on the side of democracy and freedom, but is committing blackmail aligned with the geostrategic goals of the Kremlin. The EU must not allow itself to be bullied by Orbán, who wants to prevent a democratic and Western-oriented Ukraine, as this would undermine his autocratic project.
Establishment-critical narrative
It's remarkable that the EU is opening accession negotiations with Kyiv and is putting together a huge aid package while withholding tens of billions from Hungary — which it did before in 2022. To cynically bribe Budapest's approval, only €10B was released, which Hungary is entitled to anyway, while Ukraine is to receive €50B. Hungary has the right to insist on the release of all funds to approve the Ukraine aid package. EU leaders should bear in mind that Hungary still has several options to block Ukraine's accession process and the road ahead could rightly be paved with Hungarian vetoes.