Euronews -The Briefing December 14, 2023 by Jorge Liboreiro : Victor Orban brings European unity to its knees

 

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Viktor Orbán brings European unity to its knees

By Jorge Liboreiro The political front that the European Union forged in the aftermath of Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch the all-out invasion of Ukraine has seen relentless attempts to tear it apart. Rather miraculously, it has managed to resist them all, keeping its core shape for almost two years. Could it now survive a wound inflicted from the inside out? This is – without any hint of exaggeration – the burning question currently occupying everyone’s mind in Brussels. The 27 leaders are, as we speak, gathered inside the Europa building in what is shaping up to be the most dramatic and consequential summit since at least July 2020, when the bloc agreed to set up a history-making recovery fund to weather the coronavirus pandemic.   On the table we find two momentous decisions: whether to open accession negotiations with Ukraine, the second step after being granted candidate status, and whether to approve a €50-billion special facility in long-term support for the war-torn nation. A few months ago, both decisions seemed like a done deal. Today, the certainty has vanished into thin air. The culprit is none other than Viktor Orbán, who has for the past weeks led a relentless campaign against the bloc’s common policy on Ukraine, threatening to wield his veto power to prevent the accession talks and halt further provisions of financial and military aid.   Orbán’s combative push has played out across public speeches, billboard campaigns (which Věra Jourová slammed as “outrageous and scandalous”), social media posts, newspaper interviews and not one but two letters personally addressed to European Council President Charles Michel. In a bold move, Orbán asked Michel to drop the items from the summit’s agenda altogether, arguing Ukraine has not fully met the seven pre-conditions for the negotiations. “The European Union is about to make a terrible mistake and they must be stopped. Even if 26 of them want to do it, and we are the only ones against it,” he said this week. “Ukraine is not really in a position to start negotiations, but because of the war, for geostrategic reasons, let’s say for political reasons, we have to start negotiations with them. I think that’s a mistake.” The Hungarian premier has also taken exception to the proposed €50-billion Ukraine Facility, which would mix €33 billion in loans and €17 billion in grants, claiming the money would fall prey to corruption and be impossible to track down. Approving the Facility is becoming increasingly urgent as Brussels will run out of money for Kyiv at the end of this month and American aid is stuck in a legislative battle in the US Congress with no resolution in sight. The litany of complaints has left diplomats wondering how to square the circle and prevent the Hungarian veto from blowing up the two-day summit. Officials acknowledge that a sort of deal has to be achieved at the end of the meeting, even if discussions need to be extended into the weekend and painful compromises are made. Having Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen standing on the podium without anything to offer would be simply catastrophic for the bloc’s credibility. Making matters more awkward, the summit comes amid fears that Orbán will attempt a quid-pro-quo to secure full access to Hungary’s cohesion and recovery funds, frozen last year over persistent rule-of-law concerns. The Commission approved on Wednesday the release of up to €10.2 billion in cohesion funds, leaving more than €20 billion firmly blocked. Budapest has asked for the entire pot of cash to be unfrozen. “I do not want to get into some type of bazaar logic where we should be trading one thing with another. This is about the security of Ukraine,” said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. “We have to do everything to keep the unity and I'm convinced that it’s possible if there are clear spirits and goodwill at the table.” Should Orbán insist on that trade-off path, diplomats are already working on a Plan B (or C, or D) that would see a coalition of the willing, basically all member states except Hungary, get together and set up an off-budget tool, which would allow Brussels to keep sending regular payments to Ukraine without interruptions. This, however, would mark the death of European unity. “We have to reach some kind of agreement. We really don’t have the time to procrastinate or push it to the future. It’s definitely a bad signal," said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, urging to focus on Plan A. Asked how she felt about the upcoming negotiations, Kallas said: “Not optimistic, no.” WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? FIRST TIME EVER Following two weeks of frantic negotiations in Dubai, COP28 concluded with a joint call for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade.” This is the first time in almost 30 years of climate summits that countries have committed to ditch the main culprit behind global warming: fossil fuels. Lottie Limb explains the true meaning of the declaration and the many loopholes that might pierce through. And here’s why climate change has become a “child rights crisis.” STEP BY STEP The European Commission has rowed back on its much-delayed plan to tax the profits stemming from the immobilised assets of the Russian Central Bank. Instead, the executive has proposed common rules to register the profits and keep them in a separate account. The taxation would be Step 2 of the process but it’s unclear when – or even if – this will ever happen, Jack Schickler reports. BREAKING THE ICE Austria caught us this week by surprise when it softened its long-held veto on the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria and said it would allow the abolition of passport checks at airports. Border controls at land borders would remain in place. Brussels was quick to welcome Austria’s idea as a “positive development” but the overture comes with conditions attached. CLASH IN STRASBOURG Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s speech before the European Parliament was supposed to be a recap of the Spanish presidency’s accomplishments over the past six months. But domestic politics soon hijacked the moment and triggered an acrimonious clash between the conservatives and the socialists , with Sánchez pulling no punches. The tense moment was then interrupted by a surprise guest. Can you guess who? QUEST FOR JUSTICE As Israel continues bombing the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Hamas attacks, there’s a growing chorus of voices accusing both sides of having committed war crimes. Could these alleged crimes be ever brought to justice? The slim hopes rest on the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) and its prosecutor, Karim Khan. In Europe, countries are deeply divided about the possibility of criminal prosecution, writes Mared Gwyn Jones. CATASTROPHIC BILLS Europeans often mock the United States for its lack of universal healthcare which drives millions of people into bankruptcy. Europe, though, isn't completely off the hook. A new report from the World Health Organization shows that millions of people in the continent, particularly in Eastern countries, are struggling to pay their medical bills. Eleanor Butler breaks down the troubling data. NEVERENDING STORY This year, Giorgia Meloni’s Christmas party for young conservatives, called “Atreju,” is going to have a little more sparkle than the festival had in the past 26 years. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, VOX’s leader Santiago Abascal and Tesla’s Elon Musk will be among the guests attending the four-day event. Giulia Carbonaro takes you inside the bizarre extravaganza. IT'S IN THE NUMBERS French President Emmanuel Macron and his government suffered a humiliating defeat this week after what was supposed to be a landmark immigration bill was voted down in the National Assembly. A motion to reject the draft law was surprisingly adopted by 270 votes against 265, exposing Macron’s wobbly majority. EDITOR’S CHOICE