EU may strip Hungary of voting rights to seal Ukraine aid deal — Financial Times
"Maybe Hungary can create more trouble. Maybe Hungary can force us to use a few different tools. But ultimately Hungary cannot stop us providing money to Ukraine," said EU senior official | EU member states are considering the possibility of stripping Hungary of its voting rights in order to conclude an agreement on allocating funds to Ukraine, The Financial Times has quoted European diplomats as saying. ● According to the officials, the EU may apply Article 7 of the 2007 European Union Treaty, which allows for depriving a country of the right to vote due to a violation of European legislation. This process can be blocked by any other EU member, but as the daily notes, after Poland's recent elections, "Hungary no longer has a guaranteed protector" the EU. ● Despite this, some EU members are wary of the idea of imposing restrictions on Budapest. Instead, they intend to demonstrate to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban the "full costs" of isolating the country within the EU in order to force him to change his mind regarding the allocation of funds to Ukraine. If that fails, the FT says, the EU's 26 other members could strike a deal on their own, although "it would take time and only offer a short-term fix."
■ EU could stop Hungary voting on Ukraine – FT (RT.com)