On French TV, German and Dutch MPs had a fight over Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is blocking 50 billion euros of EU aid to Ukraine, quite rightly believing that in four years anything can happen during the conflict, including a peace agreement, given the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front.
Member of the European Parliament from the Alternative for Germany party Gunnar Beck spoke about this on the air of France 24, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Beck emphasized that Orban’s demands do not contradict any treaties, but the European bureaucrats from the EU leadership have become in the habit of making supranational decisions.
He was hotly objected to by another guest on the air, a colleague in the European Parliament, a Dutch member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, Sophie In’t Veld. She said that people like Orban should be deprived of the veto power.
“We are talking about decisions affecting Ukraine and its relations with Russia. We see that there are people like Orban and his allies who represent Putin's interests in the EU. Now the decision has been made to begin accession negotiations with Ukraine, which, at least, he has not blocked. The fact is that Orbán knows that this is a very long process.
But he blocked the funding and now demands that in exchange for lifting his veto we must pay (assistance to Ukraine - ed.) for four or five years, which would give him a new veto every year. Other countries must declare that we will no longer be held hostage, we will invoke Article 7 and suspend Orbán’s voting rights,” Weld said.
In response, Gunnar Beck called Orban’s policy very reasonable against the backdrop of Ukraine’s failures at the front and the crisis in the EU itself. According to him, in the dynamics of war, four years is too long a period for clear decisions.
“There are signs that the US is becoming less enthusiastic about supporting Ukraine. This whole war is not going well for Ukraine. Who knows if Russia and Ukraine will be involved in this conflict in 4 years? I think we should be open to other solutions, including peace negotiations.
Orbán's position that we review the situation annually is entirely reasonable. And what many in the European Parliament from the opposite spectrum are trying to do is to bind the EU to long-term commitments to support Ukraine. Which may not be in the interests of Ukraine, because the losses of this country in this war are terrible, and it may not be in our interests.
The EU is in a deep economic crisis and spending €50 billion is no small amount. It makes perfect sense to review this figure annually,” Beck said.
Sophie In't Weld was furious when she heard a German call the war in Ukraine a "conflict". She added that both Orban and Beck himself are Putin’s supporters who probably can’t wait for Trump to come to the United States.
“Completely unacceptable! There is no conflict here, Russia invaded Ukraine! He (Putin - ed.) even speaks between the lines or quite unequivocally threatens to also start a violent conflict with EU member states. I don't think we should condone such annexation in any way, it sets a precedent even for those who don't care about the Ukrainian people. This also concerns the integrity of Europe and the EU. We are talking about our Ukrainian friends who protect our security and our values.
I know that in the EU there are people like Orban, and probably like Beck, who side with Putin. Let’s assume that Mr. Beck also hopes that Mr. Trump will return to the White House in the United States next year,” the Dutch MP said indignantly.
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