Index – Foreigner – Time begins: how far will Viktor Orbán go?

Today there will be little agreement

An EU diplomatic source told Index on Thursday afternoon, commenting that tonight togetherThe EU Heads of State and Government met in a videoconference.

It’s informal – and the summit, which was held remotely due to the coronavirus epidemic, cannot formally decide on Hungary’s and Poland’s planned vetoes of the EU budget (and, more urgently, the post-epidemic recovery fund), since this is not the subject, our sources recall. In total, it is € 1.820 billion.

Officially, today’s debate is about a European defense against the epidemic, on which there is nothing to veto.

At the same time, the atmosphere of today’s debate is largely determined by the aftermath of Monday’s meeting of ambassadors; This was made clear by the representatives of Hungary and Poland in the framework of a political resolution,

This, as Justice Minister Judit Varga told Index this week, is seen as a blackmail tool and her readiness to veto has been strengthened. Brussels regularly criticizes Hungary and Poland, citing the state of democracy and the rule of law.

The internal opposition, on the other hand, considers Viktor Orbán a veto, a robbery and a historical sin

Sir, your package!

As today’s peak approached, everyone was trying to increase their stakes. The issue is all the more exciting because the EU budget can be vetoed, but passing the rule of law clause alone is not. The question, then, is whether the two questions continue to be related in the same way as

• Although confirmed in Warsaw, they do not ask that the rule of law be linked to the payment of money, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have indicated that they do not support the veto of the other two Visegrad states. Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban made a similar statement.
• The main MEPs have made it clear that the EP, which has codecision on budgetary matters, will not abandon the rule of law. Manfred Weber, the leader of the Bavarian faction of the European People’s Party, which also includes Fidesz, was also adamant in an interview with the German newspaper Bild. Othmar Karas, an influential Austrian People’s Party politician and vice president of the EP, called for Fidesz’s expulsion from the European People’s Party should Hungary veto EU money.

  If Orban continues to block at tomorrow’s EU summit, the expulsion of #FIDESZ of the EPP the logical consequence. With his behavior, he not only torpedoes the EU as a community of values ​​and law, but also blocks important investments for all of us.@krone_at pic.twitter.com/XRPze0goC0

  – Othmar Karas (othmar_karas) November 18, 2020

• As a first compromise, Hungary and Poland rejected the proposal to receive a guarantee statement in exchange for waiving the veto, which would reinforce their rights to national sovereignty. This was reported by the Brussels specialized portal Bruxinfo.
• György Soros, an American billionaire of Hungarian descent, encouraged the EU to oppose the two renowned countries. István Hollik, Fidesz’s communications director, refused to do so, saying they would not allow blackmail.

Bureaucrats are already drafting

Our diplomatic sources on Thursday night called it the most likely event: the rigid front lines will not melt tonight, and the € 1.8 billion issue will remain pending next week. However, we know that implementing regulations will be drawn up in Brussels should an agreement on the payment of EU funds be reached in the coming weeks.

If no agreement is reached on the EU budget this year, this year’s budget figures will carry over to next year, but they are not yet prepared for a pandemic.

Updated: At the beginning of the summit, a spokesman for the German government told the dpa news agency:

We are not waiting for a deal today

(Cover image: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will hold a video conference with Visegrad partners (V4) ahead of the EU summit at the Carmelite Monastery on November 19, 2020. Photo: Prime Minister Press Office / Benko Vivien Cher / MTI)