If there is an awkward partner in the EU, it is Viktor Orbán. The Hungarian prime minister has angered every European government except that of the Slovak populist Robert Fico with his tour of Russia, China and the United States (with a stop to see Donald Trump), after passing through Ukraine, which he called a “peace mission” at the beginning of the rotating presidency of the EU Council. Now he is causing a new shock by extending his fast-track visa programme for workers to Russia and Belarus.
The move has set off alarm bells for the European Commission, which has entered into an exchange of letters with the Orbán government, saying its move poses a “potential threat” to the security of the entire Schengen area. “There are reasons to be concerned,” Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson warned during an appearance at the European Parliament where she analysed the fast-track visa programme that initially worked for Ukraine and Serbia and was extended in July to Bosnia, North Macedonia and Montenegro. and Moldova – all EU candidate countries – and “two countries hostile to the EU,” he said, referring to Russia and Belarus.
“We have member states that face the Russian threat on a daily basis,” added Johansson, who referred to cases of espionage and sabotage carried out by Moscow on European soil and mentioned cyberattacks in the Czech Republic, the sabotage of factories and military bases in Germany or Poland, as well as the arrest of spies in countries such as Norway.
“It is time for more surveillance, not less.” “This is not the time to be lenient on security,” warned Johansson, who assured that Hungary’s response to his concerns left two “confused” questions. “Why does the government consider this decision appropriate in the current political situation?” is one of the questions the commissioner posed to Budapest in a new letter. In Brussels, they see a “disproportion” between the benefit that Hungary can gain from this measure and the risk it poses to the EU when they understand that it can be a breeding ground for spies. Johansson is also not convinced by the way applications are assessed in relation to the “threat” they represent.
Links with Putin
The Hungarian government, which is the only European government with ties to Vladimir Putin, counter-scheduled Johansson’s appearance with another media appearance at the European Parliament, in which she justified her decision. “The reason is due to the needs of the labour market in Hungary. The government has determined that there are areas in which citizens of these countries have special skills and availability that are necessary for our economy,” European Affairs Minister János Bóka said, according to EFE.
So far, Budapest has granted these visas to only ten Russians and four Belarusians, which is why it considers them “statistically irrelevant”. “There are no legal or security problems with this system. There is political hysteria created by the majority of this European Parliament and by some member states. There is no interest in the Parliament to establish a real dialogue and the European Commission should be strong enough and resist political pressure to join it,” the Hungarian minister criticized, who assured that other European countries grant more such visas to citizens of these countries.
The clash between Orbán and the majority of political groups took place two weeks before the far-right prime minister went to the European Parliament to present the programme for the rotating presidency of the EU Council that he is holding this semester and in which he is very tense. Orbán has become a thorn in the side of the entire community club and, two months ago, some capitals came to put unprecedented measures on the table, such as the exclusion of Hungary from the presidency of the EU Council. Beyond the anger, there was no unanimity in the response, except that the meeting of foreign ministers was held in Brussels and not in the Hungarian capital. However, Orbán will receive his European counterparts in Budapest in two months.
