Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday that the European Commission was blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions of dollars in funds frozen on rule of law grounds.
Orbán said the blackmail was “a fact,” which even the blackmailers themselves – members of the European Parliament – admitted.
“In our view, Hungary meets all the qualities of the rule of law, and when the European Commission has specific needs, we implement everything and are also cooperative,” Orbán told reporters in Budapest during a news conference. “You cannot blame me for doing everything I could to promote Hungary’s interests in such a blackmailed situation.”
Orbán's government is embroiled in a long-running dispute with Brussels, which has frozen billions in EU funds intended for Hungary over concerns about human rights and the rule of law in the country.
Last week, the European Commission released 10.2 billion euros in frozen EU cohesion funds for Hungary.
The Commission said the timing of the release of the funds – which came just a day before the European Council, where Orbán threatened to block the start of Ukraine's accession negotiations to the EU and a further aid package for Kiev – was coincidental. But many EU politicians have warned Brussels not to give in to what they see as blackmail by the Hungarian leader.
In the end, Orbán made a U-turn and allowed EU leaders to agree to start negotiations on Ukraine's entry into the bloc.
There is more money at stake for Budapest and Orbán is still blocking a 50 billion euro aid package for Kiev that leaders will discuss early next year.