Brussels unlocks €10 billion in frozen EU funds for Hungary

A liberal foreign policy expert believes that releasing one-third of the €30 billion suspended over rule-of-law concerns is part of a deal whereby Hungary will not oppose further EU payments to Ukraine.

On Klubrádió, former liberal diplomat István Szent-Iványi predicted that a deal will be struck between the European Commission and the Hungarian government. The Hungarian side has demanded that EU funds be unblocked and opposed the plan to send €50 billion to Ukraine over the next four years. Szent-Iványi believes that on Friday, at the end of the EU summit, PM Orbán will agree to at least part of the planned aid to Ukraine. On the other hand, he added, Mr Orbán will continue to block the plan to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. The liberal expert concedes that Ukraine doesn’t fulfil the conditions of full membership and could only become a member in perhaps 10 years’ time. The lesson Szent-Iványi draws from the expected outcome of the summit is that the rule-of-law mechanism is ‘a toothless lion’ as long as important decisions have to be taken unanimously.

Tags: EU funds, rule of law, Ukraine