Who convinced Hungarian Prime Minister Orban to change his stance on aiding Ukraine?
(Baonghean.vn) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has agreed to let the EU provide 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine after much persuasion from Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron, Politico reported, citing informed sources.
It took months of 'attacks' from Ms Meloni and a bit of 'sweet talk' from Mr Macron to get Prime Minister Orban to agree, the publication wrote.
Sources close to the Italian politician said Ms Meloni did some serious diplomatic work, speaking to Orban by phone, meeting him at the Amigo hotel in Brussels for an hour-long chat and again on the morning of the summit.
The French president has also been trying for weeks to reach a compromise with the Hungarian prime minister. The article added that the head of state invited Mr Orban to lunch at the Elysee Palace in January, during which time President Macron encouraged Mr Orban to share his views on the best way to integrate Eastern European countries.
The official said the “charm offensive” allowed European Council President Charles Michel to immediately start the EU summit by announcing the long-awaited deal. The publication pointed out that Prime Minister Orban had to make concessions to avoid a disaster for Hungary, which would otherwise see the remaining EU member states take action against the struggling Hungarian economy or strip the country of its voting rights under the EU Treaty.
Previously, on February 1, Mr. Michel announced that all 27 EU leaders at the summit in Brussels agreed to allocate 50 billion euros in macro-financial support to Ukraine./.
