72 hours have passed since his re-election. And Viktor Orban has already made it clear that he does not want to break up with Vladimir Putin. The Hungarian prime minister told a news conference with international media on Wednesday that he was ready to pay for Russian fossil fuels in rubles if Russia asked for it. And that it remains firmly opposed to the expansion of Russian oil and gas sanctions. In addition, as if these were not enough differences with the rest of the EU, Orban assured that he “wants” to continue the alliance with China on the so-called Silk Road, after the EU selects Beijing. His hatch to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Hungarians want peace, to vote for those who can give them the greatest guarantees of peace,” Orban said at the start of a news conference. This was announced on Twitter by his spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs.
When the European Commission asked Moscow to respect the contracts and the contracts were signed in euros or dollars, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Putin’s best friend in the Council of Europe, said: “We have no difficulty paying in rubles. “If the Russians ask us, we will pay in rubles.”
Payment in rubles means a breach of EU sanctions aimed at weakening Russia’s economy and currency, such as freezing the assets of Russia’s central bank or imposing trade embargoes. And in this Orban will find himself alone in the EU.
What’s not just in the blows of tightening energy embargoes on Russia, which 27 carry on coal and leave gas and oil. There are countries like Germany or Austria that first and foremost stop the idea of gas.
“Poles want to urgently extend sanctions on gas and oil,” Orban said. “Poland has a sea, it can somehow manage its energy supply. But Hungary can only get energy from gas pipelines: if sanctions are imposed, they will not be. There are various Hungarian and Polish interests that do not give a common policy.
What did he mean when he mentioned Zelensky as a competitor in the elections? “He has a bad habit, he tells everyone what to do. It would be better if this habit was stopped. It is unusual for a person in need to ask for help and to say, ‘Help,’ and if you do not help, you will be reprimanded. ”
More than 300 Russian diplomats have been expelled after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Are you planning to expel any Russian diplomat? “I am not going to expel anyone for political reasons. “I do not question other EU countries over this.”
“I realized in 2009 that Russia would be part of the architecture of European security,” Orban said. “It is in this context that we developed our Russian policy in 2010. I still do not know exactly how much change the war will bring, but something new. Begins. “When we see this, we will sit down with the people who know how to do it and work out a future policy towards Russia.”
Orb .n also referred to a letter sent by Brussels to Budapest, in which he activated a conditionality mechanism that could freeze European funds if they were threatened with management due to problems with the rule of law of any country. What will he do? “The most important thing is to strengthen our alliance with Poland. We work with Poles to protect each other. We will wait for the letter to arrive and then I will reply to you. Whatever the content of this letter, Hungary will not supply arms to Ukraine. And this also applies to the expansion of sanctions against Russia on gas and oil. We are also convinced that we will not give up on gender policy. ”
Is there a political motivation behind implementing the rule of law procedure? “We can say that the decisions of the European Commission and the European Parliament are often based on left-wing political motives.
However, as the President of the European Commission insisted at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the problem of Hungary is “corruption”.
“We sent a letter to Hungary with questions, which he answered,” said Ursula von der Leyen. “We have studied the answers to these questions. Our conclusion is that we need to move on to the next step. And therefore the Commissioner [Johannes] Han [de Presupuestos] He spoke to the Hungarian authorities to inform them that we were going to send a formal notice letter to start the conditionality mechanism. This is the beginning of the procedure, which has defined deadlines. ”
Von der Leyen added: “In the case of Hungary, we have made it clear. “The issue is corruption. We have discussed the issue of recovery and sustainability with Hungary, and there is a demand for anti-corruption reforms.”
As a first step, the European Commission has sent a written notice to the Member State concerned stating the reasons why the breach of the rule of law affects or threatens the proper use of EU funds. Hungary now has 1-3 months to respond to the Commission notice and offer corrective action. The Commission shall then decide, on the basis of the information and opinion of the Member State, whether, within one month, to propose a proposal to freeze the funds of the Council of the European Union.
In such a case, Hungary would have another month to once again express its opinion, in particular on the proportionality of sanctions. The European Commission then has another month to submit a proposal to the Council of the European Union to submit an implementing decision.
As a final step, the council must decide on the freezing of funds within one month (in exceptional cases, for another two months). This requires a qualified majority on the council (at least 15 member states, representing at least 65% of the population).
Eventually, it may take up to 9 months from the time of written notice in Hungary to the actual blocking of funds.
Browse Poland
The President of the European Commission also said that his visit to Warsaw on April 9 is not to approve the Polish reform plan, but to support the Ukrainian refugees.
“I was in plenary in mid-July to discuss the terms of Poland’s restoration plan,” von der Leyen continued. And here are three demands: one, the dissolution of the Disciplinary Court of Judges; Disciplinary regime reform; And the process of reinstatement of dismissed judges. This is all part of the decision of the European Court of Justice. We were always clear. There are reforms that people need to carry out. Then we have the investments. ”
How can this be done? “The Polish government must legislate before parliament, submit a law that meets these requirements,” explains Zheda, a public executive: “But we have not reached it yet. To be understandable. We are close, but we are not yet. And when these criteria are met, or when this law will be passed in Parliament, then we will see if the law meets the purpose of meeting these requirements, which I have just mentioned. If so, we will reach an important point and then we can move on to the next stage. ”
Source: El Diario
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
