IAN BREMMER: The EU swats a gadfly
Tactical victory over Viktor Orban is not the end of the Hungarian leader’s attempts to win concessions in exchange for co-operation
For political cynics, the EU has long been an easy target. The size and scale of its ambitions and the continual overproduction of bureaucratic absurdities offer ample opportunity for derision — inside Europe and beyond. But a February 1 summit meeting to hash out the differences of member state over a multiyear EU funding package for Ukraine reminds us again that on priority issues the EU works far more effectively than conventional wisdom and eurosceptic populists suggest.
February’s success was not inevitable. A meeting in December meant to provide Ukraine with a €50bn EU aid package ended in acrimony when serial political blackmailer Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, vetoed a plan that required unanimous support from all 27 EU member states. Kyiv needs that money to help pay pensions, salaries and other costs over the next four years as Ukraine fights to repel Russian invaders, and the growing political uncertainty over the future of US aid for Ukraine, exacerbated...
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