Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin told Euronews that he believes the European Union should act against the Hungarian government’s use of vetoes, which he called “outrageous”. Orbán responded to this on social media, calling on Martin not to “ruin the love story between Ireland and Hungary”.
“We Hungarians have always regarded Irish patriots as champions of freedom and national independence. For us, Ireland is a symbol of liberty and sovereignty,” Orban wrote on X.
He added that, for this reason, it is “always shocking” to see an Irish patriot standing on the side of an “empire instead of national sovereignty”.
“Please don’t ruin the love story between Irish and Hungarian patriots!” he concluded.
‘EU could become unworkable’
Orbán has frequently used veto powers since coming to power in 2010. By doing so, he has halted decisions that must be made by unanimous agreement, which has resulted, among others, delaying aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
Martin told Euronews that, until now, the “EU has always accepted the unanimous voting system in some respects, but it has been abused”. He added that the European Union will become “unworkable” if what he refers to as Hungary’s abuse of the veto continues.
He therefore called on the EU to use all instruments at its disposal to curb this behaviour, including the Article 7 procedure, which provides for the suspension of certain rights from a member state if there is a clear breach of EU values. This procedure was launched years ago at the request of the European Parliament. However, further steps have not yet been taken by the Council because the procedure has not reached that stage.
Hungary is opposing Ukraine’s accession to the EU, which Orbán believes could bankrupt the EU. In Hungary, the government is holding a referendum to ask people’s opinion on Ukraine’s membership. Martin stressed that Ukraine should join the EU for geopolitical reasons and strongly condemned Hungary’s obstruction of this.
“It’s outrageous what’s happening at the moment. In my view, it’s essential that Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union for geopolitical reasons,” he said.
Orbán has also threatened to delay the extension of economic restrictions against Russia that expire at the end of July unless all 27 member states agree to extend them for another six months.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the EU is considering a way to circumvent Hungary’s veto on the extension of sanctions against Russia. The bypass routes being considered would require only a majority of EU countries to extend the sanctions. Discussions are ongoing about the legal basis for alternative options.
Meanwhile, Budapest reportedly did not raise serious objections to a new, 17th package of sanctions against Moscow, which will also target countries helping Russia evade sanctions.
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