Budapest is fuelling anti-Ukraine sentiment ahead of a key election.
Hungary has thrown the EU’s planned €90 billion loan to Ukraine into crisis after threatening to block the deal until the flow of Russian oil resumes through the Druzhba pipeline.
The Hungarian government issued the warning on Friday evening, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tries to weaponize anti-Ukraine sentiment ahead of a key election where he risks losing power after more than 15 years.
“Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by halting oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to create supply disruptions in Hungary and push fuel prices higher before the elections,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on X. “We will not give in to this blackmail.”
Hungary’s threat to veto the loan is a major setback for Ukraine, whose coffers will begin running low on cash from April. Kyiv will struggle to sustain its war effort without fresh funds, leaving it at a disadvantage in ongoing peace talks with Russia.
But why is it news, it’s completely predictable and the EU is unlikely to not assume it
Is “totally unexpected” the criteria for whether something’s newsworthy?
Maybe it’s the title „plan in jeopardy“ which implies that the plan assumed his approval.
In jeopardy means in danger. Something can be in danger, even if it was expected that it could happen.
If I climb the mount everest, I put my life in jeopardy, even if the risk is known.
This is more like, I jump down from the mount Everest, and the news is I hurt myself. Which raises a bit the question of the purpose of the news.
„The EU publishes a plan“ - „oh no, Hungary blocked the plan“
„The EU publishes a plan“ - „oh no, Hungary blocked the plan“
„The EU publishes a plan“ - „oh no, Hungary blocked the plan“
What is this supposed to achieve? It just makes Hungary look important and the EU dysfunctional. In this case it also signals that „the EU wants to help, but it can’t“ which may or may not be part of the initial plan, given that outcome is already known. But it could also be a bureaucratic necessity.