Hungary has thrown a wrench into the EU mechanism of support to Ukraine by vetoing the release of the 90 billion Euro package last week. Prime minister Victor Orban used this extreme tool, allowed by EU Treaties but rarely used because of its political significance, as he realized that the EU is plotting to organize a defeat of Orban at the upcoming national elections on April 12. The newest action in this regime change plot, which Orban has exposed for months already, was Ukraine’s shut down of the Drushba pipeline which supplies Hungary with Russian oil, with the intention of aggravating the economic crisis, generating popular discontent and defeating Orban in the polls.
Apparently, the EU Commission did not expect that Orban would dare to use his veto power, and tried, at least formally, to have Ukraine resume oil deliveries. Zelensky claimed that the pipeline has been damaged and that repairing it takes time. However, on Tuesday, Orban sent a letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stating that “As confirmed by recently published satellite evidence, there is no technical or operational reason that would prevent the pipeline from reverting to normal operations immediately. The lack of willingness on the side of Ukraine to reopen the Druzhba pipeline is due to purely political reasons, with the intention to interfere in the ongoing Hungarian election campaign.”
Orban reminded von der Leyen that last week, together with Slovakia, he proposed a fact-finding mission to Ukraine, which Zelensky has rejected, and called for measures other than “legal remedies under international and EU law.” He called on the EU Commission “to increase political pressure on Ukraine not to undermine the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia. I also expect the European Commission to enforce relevant provisions of the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement.”
