Brussels blackmails Budapest “like there is no tomorrow, despite the fact that we have proposed a compromise,” the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Political Director Balázs Orban wrote on X (Twitter) on Jan. 29 in response to a Financial Times report that the EU threatens to hit Hungary’s economy if Viktor Orbán vetoes Ukraine aid.

Read also: Orban acknowledges EU can provide aid to Ukraine without Hungary’s involvement

“Budapest sent a new proposal to Brussels on Saturday, specifying it was now open to using the EU budget for the Ukraine package and even issuing common debt to finance it, if other caveats were added that gave Budapest the opportunity to change its mind at a later date,” his post read.

“Now it’s crystal clear: this is blackmail and has nothing to do with the rule of law. And now they’re not even trying to hide it!”

Read also: Finnish FM confident Hungary will lift veto on EUR 50 billion EU aid for Ukraine

The EU will sabotage Hungary’s economy if Budapest blocks fresh aid to Ukraine at a summit this week, under a confidential plan drawn up by Brussels that marks a significant escalation in the battle between the EU and its most pro-Russian member state, the Financial Times reported on Jan. 28.

Brussels has outlined a strategy to explicitly target Hungary’s economic weaknesses, imperil its currency and drive a collapse in investor confidence in a bid to hurt “jobs and growth” if Budapest refuses to lift its veto against the aid to Kyiv.

If Orbán does not back down, other EU leaders should publicly vow to permanently shut off all EU funding to Budapest with the intention of spooking the markets, precipitating a run on the country’s forint currency and a surge in the cost of its borrowing, Brussels stated in the document, according to the Financial Times.

Prime Minister Orbán is expected to lift his veto on EUR 50 billion ($54.3 billion) of financial aid for Ukraine from the European Union, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said in an interview with German news RND on Jan. 25.

Read also: EU promises further funding for Ukraine by March

Orbán vetoed a new EUR 50 billion ($54.3 billion) aid package for Ukraine, insisting that Budapest receive EUR 21 billion ($22.8 billion) in aid and grants that has been frozen due to the poor situation with human rights and rule of law in the country.

European Union leaders are prepared to take harsh measures against Hungary if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán continues to block a $54.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on 22 Jan.

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