But Orbán is becoming a growing outcast among European leaders, although he is still delighted to see Hungary's powerful influence.
The EU is considering providing financial compensation to Hungary in an attempt to persuade Prime Minister Viktor Orban to support sanctions on Russian oil. The European newspaper Politico writes about this with reference to three EU representatives.
The European Commission hopes to use payment mechanisms in a new energy strategy called REPowerEU, which will be announced on May 18 and which should include funds for EU countries, including Hungary.
REPowerEU's strategy is aimed at phasing out the bloc of Russian fossil fuels long before 2030.
At the same time, it is noted that Orban is becoming increasingly isolated in the European arena.
< p style = "text-align: justify;">“Orban has rarely been more isolated in the European arena than he is now. But he has come up with plans to ban Russian oil to show that he remains a powerful EU player. other Western leaders, in support of sanctions against Moscow but refusing to send weapons to Kyiv, not only distanced Orban from other Western capitals, but also confronted him with Poland's only trusted longtime ally, Poland's right-wing nationalist government. Of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky “, – the edition writes.
Orbán is said to have continued to block pan-European sanctions against Russian oil since it was proposed on May 4, arguing that stopping imports would be tantamount to dropping a “nuclear bomb” on Hungary's economy.
Read also: Hungary on Sunday again disrupted negotiations on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia
Negotiations between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Orban ended in failure on Monday, and the next video conference scheduled for Tuesday was canceled.
The latest EU sanctions plan circulated on Sunday, provided for granting Hungary and Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on Russian oil, a deadline until the end of 2024 to comply with the oil ban. That's two years more than the rest of the EU.
But Hungary has said it needs even more time to reduce its dependence on Russian oil.
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” Victor is a player, now he has a strong card, “said a former Hungarian official, describing Orbán's approach to politics.
Last Friday, in an interview with the state-owned company Kossuth, Rádió Orbán said that Brussels must listen to Budapest if it wants to promote its most controversial package of sanctions.
In response, EU officials said that a form of financial compensation to Hungary could be considered in order not to delay the deadline.
