Hungary Gives In To EU, $54 Billion Bill Passes

After threats of economic sabotage, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has given in and approved the European Union’s €50 billion aid package for Ukraine.

While Orbán has given the issue a positive spin, his earlier comments that “Hungary cannot be blackmailed,” have proven to be false. Hungary accepted the bill without his earlier suggested compromise of a yearly review for the package.

Hungary has received a small victory, an assurance that funds the E.U. has withheld from the country for not being liberal enough will be kept safe, and not used to pay for the Ukrainian war effort. This is little consolation, though, as Hungary will likely not receive those funds any time soon.

Orbán has been opposed to funding the war overall, instead suggesting the E.U. aim for a ceasefire and peace talks. The E.U. does not seem eager to stop the fighting, with the new aid package providing funds for the war through the year 2027— a dire prospect for those hoping for a swift end to the fighting.

American politicians and the E.U. have similar attitudes when it comes to the conflict. Western countries overwhelmingly don’t want to enter the war, but also don’t want to end it; instead opting to fight a proxy war, sending funds to combat Russia while letting the Ukrainian people take the losses.

It isn’t surprising that Orbán chose to give in, though. While maintaining a moral position may have looked good on paper, the consequences for Hungary, laid out in a document leaked to the Financial Times, would have been dire.

The proposed plan drafted by E.U. rivals would have dealt a destructive blow to Hungary’s already struggling economy. 

Whether E.U. relations will recover from this vote is up for debate. The Hungarian people, understandably, aren’t very happy about being blackmailed. The fact that E.U. countries are willing to use their power to silence countries that don’t adhere to their agendas is concerning, to say the least.