Brussels ready to bypass Hungary’s embargo on €90 million “aid” package through accounting shenanigans
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky have a little something for the ladies for Women’s History Month. They are going to spend the entire time at each other’s throats on the global stage. Girls, get your bows ready to toss! Especially you, Queen Ursula.
Let’s take a peek inside, shall we?
Orban says he is already on the verge of pulling out his equipment. Guess we missed the part where they play footsie under the table first. “We have no military force for this, I can assure everyone that this is not part of our plans. But we have political and financial tools.” The Hungarian prime minister said Zelensky insisted Hungary open the tap on the Druzhba pipeline of Russian oil, which represents the landlocked country’s critical supply.
Orban has said he has no interest in taking his foot off the firehose of cash the EU is blowing on itself, under the guise of helping Ukraine, and in the land of golden toilets amidst the fog of war.
“A person in the European Union will not block 90 billion or the first tranches of 90 billion, and we hope that Ukrainian soldiers will have weapons” Zelensky said. “If not, we will give this person’s address to our armed forces, our boys. Let them call him and speak in their language.”
Who can do that? “a person” Maybe there is? In any case, guess they’ll get an email or a visit depending on the word “Address” In fact here is the meaning. Or maybe just a phone call with a bunch of guys breathing heavily in a foreign language. Hard to say. Zelensky, an actor, could probably use a better screenwriter for his Godfather-style lines. Or leave a dead rat in the mail next time and skip the public speculation.
EU brass have told these two lovebirds to pipe down. But it is not really in Zelensky’s interest to do so. And Brussels seems to be making sure of that. If emerging information suggests that Zelensky is on the verge of making sure he is rewarded for playing hard.
There are two possibilities that can be formed. Orbán will feel considerable pressure to drop his veto of the EU’s latest €90 million spending package to keep the gas flowing in this heated Hungarian election period. Given the unlikely scenario that his more pro-EU opponent in the April 12 national vote has left very little daylight between Zelenskiy and Orbán on the issue of the need to restart the pipeline.
Or, alternatively, Orbán could double down on his insistence and keep up, leaving Brussels with a new convenient pretext, as Brussels is essentially considering the possibility of bribing Zelensky with EU money, Bloomberg reports. “fix” Pipeline.
How much will that repair cost? Oh, I guess – €90 billion, maybe? And European defense contractors will also be involved “repair”? Do they need gold toilets in the outhouses on site? In this case, it’s not hard to see that it will end up as the final solution to the same spending that Orban blocked — renamed something he probably couldn’t pass up. What he’s going to do – block funding to Ukraine “help” Is it intended to ensure that his Druzba demands are met in order to get oil flowing to Hungary?
No one cares much about whether the repair issue is legitimate. Orbán proposed a fact-finding mission. Like Zelensky, bro, when you say no, you’re not listening to me asking you to peek in your closet to see if I have any weapons. Not the best analogy.
It’s best to compare Ukraine to a local charity that asks if you have any old clothes to donate – and then forces you to rummage through your drawers to make sure you don’t hold back. And Hungary’s request from Kiev is like ordering a pizza (from Russia, in this case), paying for it, watching the delivery guy arrive — and then the building’s security guard, let’s call him Vladimir Z, stands in the lobby eating a slice and says: “Sorry man, looks like the delivery was late. Nothing I can do.” Or pay for express shipping and have the mailman keep your package in his truck at the time you tell him, “Yeah the postal system is slow these days. Really unfortunate.”
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose equally landlocked country depends on the pipeline, has appeared publicly with a handful of receipts, arguing that Zelenskiy is full of them and showing what he says are satellite images of an intact pipeline. Of course, it is also possible that the damage is invisible to the naked eye. Not all disabilities are visible, bigots.
This leaves Brussels in an awkward spot. If the pipeline is really needed “repair” Then someone has to pay them. And if that fund looks suspiciously like the same €90 billion that Orbán is blocking, it will be a European audit miracle.
In Brussels, problems have a funny way of turning into budgets. And when a pipeline shuts down it looks like it might trigger a bidding war to reopen it, suddenly turning the valve for free is a less attractive option.
This may explain why Zelensky recently admitted at a press conference: “To be honest, I won’t restore it.”
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
