Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is critical of Hungary’s proposal to have annual votes on the EU’s aid to Ukraine.
“Activating the vote each time is not an effective way,” he told journalists in Brussels on Thursday.
The Lithuanian president’s comment comes as EU leaders are gathering for an extraordinary summit that is expected to endorse the bloc’s 50-billion-euro aid package to Kyiv. Budapest blocked the decision at the end of last year.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been accused of holding the Ukraine support hostage in a bid to force Brussels to unblock billions of euros in EU funds for Budapest frozen due to concerns over the rule of law in his country.
“If during this review we exchange views on how well the aid is being implemented and on the [...] situation in Ukraine at that particular point in time, everything is fine, but if we go back to the voting process every year and face the same veto again, that is a road to nowhere,” Nausėda commented to reporters in Brussels.
Amid mounting frustration at Hungary’s positions, there are growing calls for activating Article 7 of the EU Treaty and stripping Budapest of its voting rights.
That would require unanimity from all the 26 remaining leaders, and member states have so far been unwilling to publicly discuss this option.
“Article 7 is about a country disregarding the rule of law and creating a problem of stability within the EU,” Nausėda said.
“Article 7 can be applied, that’s why it was put in place, but it can’t be applied by referring to some other things that are unrelated to Article 7 or by punishing Hungary for something not covered by it,” the president said.
This would mean manipulating the EU’s laws for political purposes, he added. “This shouldn’t be the case.”
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