Putin's man in Brussels: Anger in the EU about Orban is increasing

Hungary's head of state resembles his counterpart Putin in many fundamental beliefs.

Putin's man in Brussels: Anger in the EU about Orban is increasing

Hungary's head of state resembles his counterpart Putin in many fundamental beliefs. Historians call Orban's style of government "made in Russia". That might explain his odd advocacy for the Russian Orthodox Patriarch. However, the maneuver is likely to have consequences.

Because of the resistance from Hungary, the EU has to refrain from sanctions against the Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill for the time being. The sixth EU sanctions package, which also includes an extensive oil embargo, was approved by representatives of the 27 EU states without the actually planned sanctions against Kirill. Because a unanimous decision was necessary, the other 26 countries could not prevail against Hungary.

Kirill should actually be on the EU sanctions list because of his support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. He maintains close contact with President Vladimir Putin and has so far shown himself to be very loyal to the Kremlin. In recent weeks, Kirill has repeatedly spoken out in favor of the Russian campaign in Ukraine and called on his supporters to unite behind Moscow's fight against "enemies from outside and inside". In February he spoke of a fight against the "forces of evil" who opposed the historical unity of Russia and Ukraine. His comments have even earned him a rebuke from Pope Francis, who told Kirill in a video conference call in March that religious leaders “need to use the language of Jesus, not the language of politics.” The Pope later announced that a meeting between the two men that had been planned for June in Jerusalem had been cancelled.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently justified his commitment to war-preaching Kirill "with the question of the freedom of belief of Hungarian religious communities". This is "sacred and inalienable". Observers in Budapest, on the other hand, see Orban's commitment to the Moscow patriarch primarily as a result of ideological similarities. "Almost everything Orban did in terms of exercising power in Hungary bears the stamp 'Made in Russia'," says Budapest historian Krisztian Ungvary. Like Putin, Orban abolished university autonomy, launched a campaign against gay and transgender rights, eliminated independent media and put critical civil organizations under pressure.

In Brussels it is also pointed out that there are only a few thousand Orthodox believers in Hungary. And only some of them belong to the Orthodox community that is committed to the Patriarchate of Moscow. The other part belongs canonically to the metropolis of Vienna, which in turn is subordinate to the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul). At the same time, however, Orban has given the "Moscow" Orthodox a lot of money in recent years. The orthodox Church of Our Lady in the center of Budapest is being renovated at great expense. Orban even had one million euros left over from the state treasury to build his own Orthodox church in the south-western Hungarian spa town of Heviz. Until the Ukraine war, Heviz was a popular holiday destination for well-heeled Russians.

It was also unusual that Orban, as head of government of a non-Orthodox EU country, warmly congratulated Kirill on his re-election as patriarch last month. "You are one of the few European politicians who, during your work, make remarkable efforts to preserve Christian values ​​and strengthen the norms of public morality and the institution of the traditional family," Orban wrote to Kirill.

The Hungarian has a far better relationship with the Moscow Patriarch than with Pope Francis in Rome. In February he said in his annual State of the Union address: "Christian Europe is in great distress because of its own internal weaknesses and external blows. It seems that Latin (Western) Christianity in Europe can no longer stand on its own two feet . Without an alliance with Orthodoxy, with Eastern Christianity, we will hardly survive the coming decades."

Meanwhile, diplomats in Brussels are pointing out that Orban's blockade policy could have serious consequences for his country. It is not considered impossible that former allies such as Poland, out of irritation, will give up their previous resistance to moving forward with the so-called Article 7 procedure. This was initiated by the EU a few years ago due to concerns about the rule of law and could even lead to the withdrawal of Hungarian voting rights in EU decisions. The country would then no longer be able to block EU sanctions against Russia.

According to EU diplomats, a number of states were extremely upset about Hungary's renewed blockade. This calls into question the unity of the EU in dealing with Russia and overshadows the fact that a very effective sanctions package has actually been launched. In addition to the oil embargo, this provides for the exclusion of the largest Russian bank, Sberbank, from the Swift financial communication network. In addition, several Russian news channels are to be banned in the EU.

The economically particularly relevant boycott against oil deliveries from Russia aims to stop oil from entering the EU by sea in the coming year. Only Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will be allowed to import Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline until further notice because of their high level of dependence.

According to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU will purchase around 90 percent less oil from Russia by the end of the year, despite the exception for pipeline deliveries. According to estimates by the EU think tank Bruegel, until recently, EU countries spent around 450 million euros a day on oil from Russia and 400 million euros on gas from Russia. The formal decision on the sanctions package is to be made on Friday tomorrow. After that, it can be published in the EU Official Journal and come into force.