Hungarian PM lashes out at Brussels for holding back billions of euros.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Thursday the European Commission is blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions in frozen funds over rule-of-law concerns.

Orbán said the blackmail is “a fact,” even admitted by the blackmailers themselves — members of the European Parliament.

“In our view, Hungary fulfils all the qualities of the rule of law, and when the European Commission has specific needs, we implement everything from them, and we are also cooperative,” Orbán told reporters in Budapest during a press conference. “You cannot blame me for doing everything I can to promote Hungary’s interests in such a blackmailed situation.”

  • PrinceWith999Enemies@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    In our view, Hungary fulfills all the qualities of the rule of law

    We self-certify our compliance and reject any review. Just give us money please.

    • maynarkh@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      It’s not sliding in there, it is there.

      The guy has a cult of personality, and the response to rule of law requirements from the EU has been the establishment of an authority without legal boundaries or oversight tht is totally not a secret police.

      What else do you need to qualify?

  • SilentKnee@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As a Hungarian I can confidently say that that money would go straight in his buddies pockets, so it’s really better this way

  • Nacktmull@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Can we please just kick Hungary out at this point? They obviously don´t belong in the EU if the majority of them votes for a right-wing pos like Orban.

    • djsoren19@yiffit.net
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      1 year ago

      I do not trust that Hungary has fair and free elections, so I’d be careful with assuming anything of the will of the people.

      • Nacktmull@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I don´t think a country without free elections could join the EU in the first place. Have there been any hints to elections not being free in Hungary?

        • myliltoehurts@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Everyone is free to vote, but there has been 10+ years of unbound propaganda since fidesz first won a super majority and basically centralised what the news broadcasts say in the country, controlled by a government appointed agency.

          The country is also full of massive government funded billboards with propaganda, blaming the EU for every bad thing and praising Orbán for protecting Hungary.

          Unfortunately these 2 work incredibly well on the majority of the population in the countryside, elderly people and everyone else who primarily get their information from TV and radio, most of whom don’t speak English to even check foreign sources even if they wanted to.

          I’m not sure if ejecting Hungary would “fix” the issue, but I also don’t know what could be done at this point to get the country back on track. It’d be nice to maybe require more like a 90% support for motions to carry in the EU rather than a tiny country like Hungary being able to hold the entire continent hostage.

          http://medialaws.ceu.hu/public_service_media_more.html https://rsf.org/en/hungary-s-sovereignty-law-viktor-orban-s-new-dangerous-provocation-targeting-independent-media

          • Nacktmull@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            Maybe Hungary should have a vote about staying in or leaving the EU then? The situation as it is now is certainly not acceptable anyhow. Having EU members that are severely hostile towards the EU, who then block everything, make anti EU propaganda and at the same time keep pocketing millions of EU money is a farce. If they are so unhappy about being in the EU they should act accordingly and leave.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Thursday the European Commission is blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions in frozen funds over rule-of-law concerns.

    “In our view, Hungary fulfils all the qualities of the rule of law, and when the European Commission has specific needs, we implement everything from them, and we are also cooperative,” Orbán told reporters in Budapest during a press conference.

    Orbán’s government has been embroiled in a long-standing dispute with Brussels, which has frozen billions of EU funds intended for Hungary over concerns about human rights and the rule of law in the country.

    The commission said the timing of the funding release — which came just a day before the European Council, where Orbán was threatening to block the start of Ukraine’s accession talks to the EU and a further aid package to Kyiv — was coincidental.

    In the end, Orbán did a U-turn and allowed EU leaders to approve the start of negotiations for Ukraine to join the bloc.

    There is more money at stake for Budapest and Orbán is still blocking a €50 billion aid package for Kyiv, which leaders are set to discuss early next year.


    The original article contains 264 words, the summary contains 190 words. Saved 28%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • EvergreenGuru@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Hungary is the only independent country in Europe, which makes the US worried, because it sees the EU/NATO as vassal countries. And EU policymakers have admitted as much to think tanks in Europe.

    Meanwhile Hungary is walking the tightrope between the EU and Russia. Hungary boldly chooses to get its Russian oil from Russia, whereas the rest of the EU chooses to get its Russian oil from India. this is beyond the comprehension of the EU states, which loudly proclaim to their American masters “Russia Bad!”

    • maynarkh@feddit.nl
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      1 year ago

      Hungary is the only independent country in Europe

      This is the most laughable shit ever. Hungary is currently the one country in the EU where the government was cowed into not celebrating one of the biggest national remembrance days because it would have offended the Russians. There is a large Soviet monument in downtown Budapest that no one dares to touch.

      Russian intelligence services have full access to Hungarian classified data. Russian agents operate with impunity and above the Hungarian law in Hungary. Hungary is trying but unable to get out of Chinese and Russian contracts since they are impossible to fulfil in the current political climate.

    • magnetosphere@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Sure, America is arrogant, but Hungary isn’t “boldly choosing” to buy oil from Russia. They just don’t want to be the next target if Russia is successful in Ukraine.

      That’s a reasonable concern, but making the Hungarian government sound heroic because of it is a little much.

      • EvergreenGuru@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Hungary isn’t worried about Russia invading them. They know Russia won’t, because if Russia wanted war with NATO, they’d have already invaded. Russia already stated that its goal was to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and obtaining nuclear weapons.

        Hungary is more concerned with keeping its costs down and avoiding going along with NATO aggression against Russia (provoking a war Russia doesn’t want). They know better than anyone that giving into all your allies’ demands will spell disaster.