How Hungary blocked EU aid to Ukraine to help Trump

VOV.VN - Hungarian Prime Minister Orban is ready to block the European Union (EU) aid package for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. This intervention, if successful, will bring many benefits to US presidential candidate Trump - Mr. Orban's close friend.

Hungary's move to block major EU aid to Ukraine

Hungary’s current prime minister, Viktor Orban, is preparing to block an EU aid package for Ukraine amid its military conflict with Russia, a move that is also expected to be a major policy gift to his friend across the Atlantic, former US President Donald Trump.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban. Photo: Reuters.

Prime Minister Orban has outlined a path to achieve this. If successful, Mr. Orban’s plan would help Mr. Trump, if he becomes the owner of the White House for a second time, avoid the $ 50 billion loan that the US , EU and G7 leaders have offered to Ukraine to help this Eastern European country fight against Russia. And in the near future, in the upcoming US election, the success of this plan would allow Mr. Trump to declare to Republican voters that if elected, he will not give Ukraine a penny more.

Hungary has said it will not agree to a rule change that would allow the US to play a major role in the loan until after the US presidential election in November 2024.

The loan will be paid for entirely with the proceeds from about $250 billion in Russian assets frozen in Western countries as part of sanctions against Russia after it launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022. The EU holds most of these Russian assets. The US has asked the EU to extend the timeframe for extending EU sanctions to at least 36 months. Under current EU rules, the bloc’s sanctions must be extended every six months — raising the possibility that an individual country could break the freeze on Russian assets, forcing EU governments to use taxpayer money to repay the loans. Under internal EU rules, all 27 member states need to approve any changes to the sanctions regime. Most EU countries have agreed to the US request for a 36-month extension, but Hungary has refused, so the US proposal will not be approved. Meanwhile, Ukraine is desperate for new money from its Western allies to keep the state running and prepare for the coming harsh winter when Russia is and will attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

VOV.VN - The prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict has exhausted US officials - the leading sponsor of Ukraine in its do-or-die military confrontation with Russia. Currently, the US is gradually leaning towards urging Ukraine to negotiate with Russia and accept the new reality on the battlefield.

EU in trouble as Hungarian Prime Minister is close to Mr. Trump

Thanks to Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, the US is unlikely to have to significantly participate in the $50 billion loan program. But despite that obstacle, the European Union is continuing to push ahead with the loan program to help Ukraine. “If we don’t address this issue [by extending the sanctions on Russian assets], it will be costly for the EU, including Hungary,” said an EU diplomat , speaking on condition of anonymity. But for Prime Minister Orban, that is a small price to pay, as he can win goodwill from his friend Trump. “Hungary doesn’t care if Europe has to pay more money [by not extending the sanctions package]. It’s just because they want to help Trump,” said a second EU diplomat. If the EU and the US share financial responsibility for the $50 billion loan, Trump, if elected president, would be tied to the money for years. But if the huge loan is approved without the US signature, Mr Trump will not have to fulfill that obligation. The financial burden will then fall mainly on the EU . Hungarian Prime Minister Orban's blocking of the loan is the latest example of the special bond between Mr Trump and Mr Orban - the two met in Florida (USA) in July 2024. Speaking to reporters in Brussels (Belgium), Prime Minister Orban made it clear that he would pop a few bottles of champagne to celebrate if Mr Trump defeated Mr Harris in the US presidential election in November.

How does the advantage tilt in Mr. Orban's favor?

A third EU diplomat said that while Mr Orban was threatening to use his veto power in the EU, the US was signaling that even if the EU could not extend the sanctions period, it was still considering participating in the loan, albeit at a significantly lower level. One option Washington could choose is to contribute just $5 billion - equivalent to the amount of Russian assets frozen by the US on US soil. At that time, the EU would have to shoulder most of the $50 billion loan. The European Commission official said he believed the US did not want to come empty-handed to the G7 finance ministers meeting in Washington in late October 2024, which is likely to decide the details of the $50 billion loan for Ukraine. Notably, Japan recently signaled that it could withdraw from the loan if the US did not participate. All eyes are now on the EU summit in Brussels on October 17-18. If Hungary refuses to adjust its stance on the duration of the sanctions, the EU is likely to finalise the loan on its own terms. However, EU governments are struggling financially and will be reluctant to increase their financial contributions to fill the gap left by the US withdrawal or will only contribute insignificantly.

VOV.vn

Source: https://vov.vn/the-gioi/quan-sat/cach-hungary-chan-vien-tro-cua-eu-cho-ukraine-de-giup-ong-trump-post1128859.vov