European officials are studying the option of stripping Hungary of its voting rights in order to force Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to change his mind about financial aid to Ukraine, the Financial Times has reported. This was reported by the Financial Times.
“Some officials have considered reviving the so-called Article 7 penalty procedure for rule of law violations, which could lead to the suspension of voting rights,” the Financial Times writes.
This process could be blocked by any other EU member, however, after Poland’s recent election in the EU “there is no guaranteed defence” for Hungary, the newspaper notes.
According to the newspaper, many countries are wary of the idea. Nevertheless, they intend to show Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban the “real price” of isolation within the EU in order to force him to change his mind about financial assistance to Ukraine.
“Perhaps Hungary will create more problems. Perhaps Hungary will force us to use other means. But in the end Hungary will not be able to prevent us from providing Ukraine with funds,” the newspaper quoted a senior European official who wished to remain anonymous as saying.
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Budapest had vetoed the decision on a long-term aid programme for Ukraine worth 50bn euros. The EU planned to amend its budget, which runs until 2027, to include 33bn euros in loans and 17bn euros in grants for Kiev.