Scholz explains how he distracted Orbán from voting against Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described how he invited Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to have coffee outside the hall on Thursday 14 December before the vote on opening EU accession negotiations with Ukraine.

Source: Scholz at a press conference in Brussels on Friday, quoted by n-tv and European Pravda

Details: The German Chancellor confirmed the story, which had previously been leaked to the media, about the circumstances under which Orbán left the room so that the remaining 26 EU leaders were able to approve the start of negotiations with Ukraine.

Scholz said he suggested that Orbán take a short break to enable EU member states to reach an agreement on accession talks with Ukraine. After a short reflection, the Hungarian prime minister agreed, and "then we took the decision with 26 votes," the chancellor added.

Quote from Scholz: "This [veto - ed.] cannot be overridden every time by going out the door. This is for special moments."

Scholz emphasised that Orbán’s exit was "not a trick", but an offer of help: "This is a decision that we made by mutual agreement in accordance with our rules. But that's not what we must do every time."

Background: 

• At the EU summit on 14 December, EU leaders supported the opening of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
• Although the decision on Kyiv had long been blocked by Hungary, its veto was overridden by persuading Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to leave the room during the vote and thus abstain from voting.
• Orbán himself later claimed that he had agreed to give up his veto right at the start of Ukraine’s EU accession talks since he would have many more opportunities to block the process.

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