Hungary vetoed EU borrowing for Ukraine, no decision on Hungarian matters today

HUNGARY - In Brief 06 Dec 2022 by Istvan Racz

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The following screenshot, from a Twitter post by a Green Party member of the European Parliament, one of the leading critics of Hungary's Fidesz government there, shows finance minister Varga who, by saying what he is quoted here to have said, essentially vetoed the EU's common borrowing action for a €18bn loan to be extended to Ukraine, at today's Ecofin meeting (= the ministerial level of the EU Council). The meeting had on its agenda: (1) the decision on EU common borrowing for Ukraine (which Hungary has just vetoed); (2) a decision to approve the global minimum corporate tax at 15% (which Hungary is also opposing); (3) the decision on Hungary's rule-of-law procedure; and (4) decision to approve Hungary RRF utilisation plan. The Ukraine loan program will most certainly still go ahead with a different structure, and Hungary seems prepared to pay its share in grants to Ukraine, though only on bilateral basis, rather than through the EU. However, after Mr. Varga's brief, one-sentence statement, no decision has been made on the two Hungarian matters today. Apparently, no political deal has been struck on a mutually acceptable outcome yet. For sure, these issues - the loan to Ukraine and Hungary's access to EU funds - have nothing to do with each other in the legal and procedural sense. However, it could not be more obvious that they have been tied together politically. The reason why these matters were put together on today's Ecofin agenda was most probably the hope that Hungary would step back from its objections on points (1) and (2), in exchange for a favourable decision from EU ministers on points (3) and (4). After today's failure, the next opportunity to get throu...