On the heels of the recent agreement concerning the next EU budget and recovery package after the Hungarian and Polish veto threats, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the Daily Mail he will veto any Brexit deal that “punishes” Britain for having decided to leave the EU.
The British tabloid’s reporter, James Franey, reportedly managed to catch and shortly interview the Hungarian Prime Minister near the Polish embassy in Brussels after the Thursday agreement.
According to Franey, Orbán told him eurocrats should only do a fair deal with the British. In response to being asked whether he would veto a bad deal, Orbán replied:
“Yes, we will only accept a fair deal.”
Hungary, together with Poland, threatened to veto the EU budget and coronavirus recovery package due to the inclusion of the rule of law criteria mechanism. After the involvement of Germany, a compromise was once again reached on Thursday, which unlike their domestic opposition, Hungarian government politicians depicted as a success.
Although Brexit talks are resumed and ongoing, at this point many foresee that a no deal Brexit is still the most likely outcome.
featured image illustration via MTI/PM’s Press Office/Gergely Botár