A key part of the text insists that the European Commission must be “objective, fair, impartial and fact-based” and guarantee “non-discrimination” when triggering the mechanism to block EU funding for national capitals.
Concessions are seen as small in Brussels as leaders have avoided Orban's annual veto of Ukraine's financial lifeline. But this way, Orban can declare victory at home by saying that Hungary got a review.
Orban's first public reaction to the deal It came in the Facebook post In which: “We fought it! The Hungarians cannot pay the Ukrainians! We did not take part in the war, we did not send arms, we are still on the side of peace!”
The agreement came after meetings with small groups of leaders on Thursday. Michael and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, along with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy, held a closed-door meeting with the Hungarian prime minister. The meeting was later expanded to other leaders, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Groove.
Many diplomats refused to offer other concessions to Orbán, and increased pressure from leaders made it clear that Budapest had no choice but to give Ukraine money. Rebuilding trust between Hungary and the European Commission is an important element for which the additional line of conditionality mechanism is crucial.
Catherine Zochekova Contributed report For this story.
