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Transcript/Script EU Summit Hungary Ukraine
HEADLINE: Hungary Accuses EU of ‘Blackmail’ Ahead of Summit on Ukraine Aid
TEASER: Hungary blocking $55 billion of EU aid for Ukraine; EU reportedly threatens to sabotage Hungarian economy
PUBLISHED AT: 1/31/24, 4:38 pm
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: London
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, APTN, AFP, Reuters, Zoom
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:17
VID APPROVED BY: sb
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[European Union leaders will try to persuade Hungary to unblock billions of dollars of EU aid for Ukraine at a crucial summit in Brussels Thursday – as Kyiv warns it is running low on ammunition to fight Russia’s invasion. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, Hungary is likely to demand hefty concessions in return.]]
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF UKRAINE / RUSSIA ARTILLERY))
((NARRATOR))
At the height of its offensive last year, Ukraine fired up to seven-thousand artillery rounds a day, according to European Union estimates. Russian forces fired back up to 20-thousand shells daily.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF BRUSSELS))
As EU heads of state prepare for a Brussels summit Thursday, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for more military support.
((Josep Borrell, EU Foreign Policy Chief (male in English) ))
“Ukraine needs more ammunition. There is a big imbalance on the fire capacity from one side to the other, and this gap has to be filled. And this is why this Council will take a quite dramatic dimension.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF ORBAN AT SUMMIT))
((NARRATOR))
But the EU must first overcome internal splits. At the last Council summit in December, Hungary vetoed a four-year, 54-billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine – arguing the money should not come from the bloc’s budget.
((FOR RADIO: Luigi Scazzieri is from the Center for European Reform.))
((Luigi Scazzieri, Centre for European Reform (male, English?)))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“That’s essentially budget support that Ukraine needs to stay in the war and to stay solvent. But it doesn’t aim to increase its military capacity. There is a separate budget line for that — that is also being held up by Hungary — and that will be discussed as well. And that is a 5 billion [euro] top-up to a common fund that the EU has to supply weapons to Ukraine.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF ORBAN WITH PUTIN))
((NARRATOR))
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long been a thorn in the side of EU unity on Russia – and has good relations with its President Vladimir Putin.
((FOR RADIO: Liana Fix, fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations.))
((Liana Fix, Council on Foreign Relations (female, English?))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“Hungary has refused to join sanctions [against Russia] at the beginning. Hungary has refused to send weapons to Ukraine. Hungary refused to give Ukraine candidate status for EU membership until it got the return that it wanted.”
((OPT OUT))
((VIDEO: VOA/AGENCY FOOTAGE OF ANTI-EU POSTERS IN BUDPAEST))
((NARRATOR))
That return included releasing 11 billion dollars of EU funds to Hungary that had been frozen over concerns about democratic backsliding in the country. The EU is still withholding a further 24 billion dollars — and Orban will likely demand that some of it is released.
((FOR RADIO: Again, analyst Liana Fix.))
((Liana Fix, Council on Foreign Relations (female, English?))
((cf. Zoom logo))
“That is a game that Viktor Orban knows very well how to play. But it’s also a game that both the EU and NATO has adapted to by now, so I would be very surprised if this is not a stumbling block which will be resolved – but it will be resolved with concessions towards Hungary.”
((OPT IN))
((VIDEO: VOA/AGENCY FOOTAGE OF BUDPAEST))
((NARRATOR))
Brussels has threatened to ‘sabotage’ Hungary’s economy unless it drops its veto of the Ukraine aid, according to a report in the London Financial Times. Budapest has accused the EU of ‘blackmail’.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF DANISH VESSEL ON WAY TO RED SEA))
Meanwhile European leaders are also set to discuss an EU naval mission to the Red Sea, to protect commercial shipping from attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF FARMER PROTESTS))
Agriculture will also be on the agenda – amid growing protests by farmers across Europe who complain that cheap imports are destroying their incomes.
((Henry Ridgwell, VOA News, London.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
London
Embargo DateJanuary 31, 2024 17:56 EST
Byline
Henry Ridgwell, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
