Luring the dissenters: why the EU wants to deprive Hungary of the right to vote
The Council of the European Union intends to ensure that Hungary remains without the right to vote in the EU. The discussion of this issue is scheduled for May 27. The reason is that Hungarian President Viktor Orban regularly vetoes EU decisions, calling them absurd or harmful to European countries. The most fierce disputes are caused by European support for Ukraine, with which Hungary has separate disagreements. The discussions are taking place against the background of the ongoing proceedings between Kiev and Budapest regarding the subversive activities of the Ukrainian special services in Hungary. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Spy games in Hungary and Ukraine
An unprecedented espionage scandal continues between Hungary and Ukraine. On May 9, the Security Service of Ukraine announced the detention of two people, accusing them of working for Hungarian military intelligence in Transcarpathia. After that, Hungary expelled two Ukrainian spies who worked under diplomatic cover at the embassy in Budapest, and Ukraine responded by expelling two Hungarian diplomats from Kiev.
The government believes that the Ukrainian authorities have taken these steps to discredit Hungary in the eyes of the entire European Union and undermine confidence in the results of the referendum on Ukraine's admission to the EU. According to Budapest, the organizers of this provocation sought to present Hungary as a state unfriendly to Ukraine, which only talks about peace, but in fact is preparing for war with a neighboring country.
Why Hungary may be deprived of the right to vote
Meanwhile, on May 27, the EU Council will discuss the possible deprivation of Hungary's voting rights under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union. The relevant document was published on the agency's website on May 22.
"The ministers will hold the eighth hearing on Hungary under the Article 7 procedure," the publication says.
Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union may be applied to a member State in the event of a "systematic violation of EU values", including the principles of the rule of law. It provides for a procedure to stop the operation of certain rights of the infringing country, including the deprivation of its right to vote.
Commenting on the EU Council's plans on May 27 to discuss Hungary's disenfranchisement due to violations of EU values, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that there are certain contradictions in the EU itself.
"There is a European mainstream that is absolutely disliked by a number of European countries, supporters of a more independent, sovereign policy that does not infringe on their own interests," the Kremlin spokesman explained.
Against this background, contradictions are growing, and the attempt to leave Hungary without the right to vote is one of the manifestations of these contradictions, Peskov added.
What is Hungary's conflict with the EU countries?
There are regular disagreements between the leadership of Hungary and other EU countries on a wide range of domestic and foreign policy issues. In recent years, scandals have arisen over Hungary's refusal to provide military assistance to Ukraine and support anti-Russian sanctions.
On May 22, Viktor Orban called the EU's energy policy absurd and aimed at supporting Ukraine. He also called for working together to combat the energy threat from the European Union. And on Saturday, May 24, Orban held an urgent government meeting in connection with energy blackmail from Ukraine and threats from Kiev to stop the transit of Russian gas, which poses serious risks to Hungary's energy security.
"The Ukrainian energy threat. If this happens, the average electricity bill, which currently stands at 7,000 HUF (1.5 thousand rubles. — Ed.), will increase to 14 thousand forints (3 thousand rubles. We will prevent this!" Orban wrote on the social network Facebook (owned by Meta, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in Russia).
In addition, Budapest, according to Reuters, is preparing a bill on withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The publication recalled that Orban described the ICC as "politicized," and also noted that the court had lost its independence. The bill has already been approved by the Hungarian Parliament.
The most heated debates are unfolding around European support for Ukraine, especially its armed forces, which Hungary considers destructive and harmful to the union itself.
According to Orban, the EU's initiative to finance a "multimillion-dollar" army in Ukraine poses risks to the security of Europe itself due to the country's political instability.
"The army is always under the influence of the government, and Ukraine is a politically unstable state. No one can say which government might be there. And we will use our money to give a million—strong army to the Ukrainian government, which we do not know," he said.
According to Orban, the Ukrainian army will not always be "friendly" towards European countries, and therefore there are negligible guarantees that EU spending on Kiev's military needs will pay off.
Viktor Orban once again openly stated Budapest's categorical refusal to finance the Ukrainian army on Saturday, May 24, on the social network X (former. Twitter).
"We need to invest in our own armies, but they [the EU] expect us to fund Ukrainian [troops] with billions over the years. We have made it clear: Hungary will not pay," he said.
The essence of the conflict between Hungary and Ukraine
On Friday, May 23, Orban accused Kiev of espionage, including conducting intelligence operations on Hungarian territory. Earlier, he accused Ukraine of trying to split society from the inside, as there is evidence that Ukrainians are financing the Hungarian opposition party, which advocates a general pro-Western course in order to achieve Kiev's accession to the European Union.
Budapest insists that Ukraine's hasty admission to the European Union will lead to a military conflict between all countries of the community and Russia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
"As a neighboring country to Ukraine, we believe that if Ukraine is admitted to the European Union, it will also be drawn into a war," Orban said during a meeting in the Hungarian parliament, noting that the EU had never previously accepted countries that were in a state of military conflict.
Ukraine and Hungary are neighbors who have long been openly annoyed with each other. In 2017, Budapest protested against the Ukrainian law on education, and since then Hungary has been blocking Kiev's cooperation with NATO. In 2019, Budapest was outraged by the language law.
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