Will Budapest and Bratislava sprinkle sand into the gears? ” The Polish daily asks for the steps of the Hungarian and Slovak Prime Minister at an extraordinary summit to Ukraine in Brussels.
The support of Ukraine and European defense will be discussed. They called him to discuss how to respond to the drastic change of US policy course to war in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) disagrees with the military or financial support of Ukraine. It proposes to put an explicit requirement for Ukraine into the conclusions of the EU summit to restore the transit of Russian or other gas through its territory to Slovakia and Europe.
If part of Thursday’s conclusions of the Summit of the European Union (EU) will be a formulation that will invite a solution to renew gas transit via Ukraine to Slovakia, the conclusions of the summit will not block the SR. The Prime Minister said this at the Thursday meeting of the National Council for the European Affairs.
Fico gave the committee the opinions with which he went to Brussels. “I think that the mention of the fact that it is necessary in the cooperation of the European Commission, Ukraine and the Slovak Republic to look for a solution to restore gas transit, it is bearable,” he said.
At the same time, the Prime Minister admitted that the disagreement of some countries with a Slovak requirement can also be expected, because “the countries are in the Union that are explicitly militant and wish to continue the war”.
They are waiting for the veto
“If a compromise is achieved at the summit, and the EU machine will move towards the majority of armaments and strengthening safety – it will be more effective in this than different ad hoc coalitions and countries outside the EU will be able to join Brussels. Maybe they will also use the word that the EU has heard many times – Vétó. It is no coincidence written in Hungarian, ”says the Polish daily.
It recalls that Budapest has taken an attitude against the whole EU since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and did not hesitate to use the requirement of unanimity to block EU policy against Russia and Ukraine.
“Subsequent rounds of negotiations on sanctions against Russia have always begun with the question whether Viktor Orbán would have to retreat this time. In a situation where the reconstruction of the entire architecture of European security after 1945 can be in the game, it is no wonder that the Hungarian leader according to the periodical did not disappoint ‘and announced his veto a few days before the summit when the working text of his conclusions came to the public, “he wrote.
Reason? “Without a change,” he replies diaries. Hungary Prime Minister does not support the actions aimed at achieving consensus on Ukraine within the European Union. It believes that the EU should start negotiations with Russia about a ceasefire in Ukraine – which, of course, as a single leader who has good relations with the Kremlin, had a lot to say.
Poles about the Slovak Prime Minister
The Polish daily also writes that in Brussels, the Slovak populist Robert Fico, who also requires an immediate ceasefire, will be added to Orbán.
Fico believes that the strategy of arming Ukraine to ensure “peace” is unrealistic. The Prime Minister also wants to restore Russian gas supplies (through the Ukrainian pipelines) on which his country is dependent.
According to Polish journalists, Orbán differs in promoting an increase in the defenses of Europe, but this may not be enough to get it on the side of the majority.
To block the efforts of other Member States, as usual, Orbán himself, he was described as Trump’s supporter, who visited the Kremlin at the beginning of the Hungarian Presidency in the middle of last year.
“In large European capitals they are aware of the importance of the moment. It is enough to recall Emmanuel Macron, who spoke of the need for a ‘extraordinary awakening’ for Europe, ”the newspaper says.
In this context, they also recalled the future German office of Friedrich Merz, who described the moment when the continent is “five minutes before midnight”.
“If a compromise within the EU proves to be impossible, the way of the action for Ukraine through ‘the coalition of willing’ will become much more attractive because leaders cannot afford to do anything. Then they will mean exactly this in the eyes of Moscow and Washington, ”concluded Gazeta Wyborcza.
Tusk with Nordic leaders
Poland will be represented by Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a summit. According to the Polish media, the meeting among the V4 leaders was not planned. Tusk last year after the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Juraj Blanar with Russian colleague Sergei Lavrovov that “the focus of our security is moving north”.
In Brussels, the NBIP8 format, the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries, Ireland and Poland, will attend in Brussels.
Tusk noted last March that “as far as Europe’s security was concerned, it moved significantly to the north. At that time he spoke of the “Nordic Plus” format with Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway as a de facto European partner who is not a member of the European Union and Poland, as well as the active participation
“All of this shows that it is possible to build large, effective political blocks that will speak in one voice in geopolitical matters and especially in connection with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and will act exactly in the same direction,” he added.
