Bloomberg: Hungary is in the EU only for money, Huxit possible?
Bloomberg wrote a long article about Hungary’s EU membership, the attitude of the Hungarians towards the European community and the government’s perspectives concerning current debates. They said Orbán regularly blames the EU, public support dwindles for the bloc, and Hungary is only a member because of the money. Since the money taps are closed, a Huxit is possible.
Bloomberg says that Hungary’s EU membership has a solid positive record regarding money. Budapest has received approximately EUR 100 million since Hungary joined the European Union in 2004. That is one of the highest levels of the EU’s per-capita allocations. But Hungary has recently become a test of the EU’s integrity, the article argues.
Bloomberg writes about polls showing the Hungarians are turning to the East. A February Eurobarometer recorded a 12 percent drop in popular support towards the EU. Interestingly, in February 2022, the backing of the EU was at 62 percent, a record since 2007. The change can mean that the government’s blame campaign against Brussels for the inflation, economic problems, and energy crisis works.
“It’s astonishing how effective Orbán has been at destroying Hungary’s pro-European attitude”, Dániel Hegedűs, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin, told Bloomberg. A Huxit would be more symbolic than Brexit was, the news outlet argues. That is because Hungary was once a poster child of the EU’s post-Cold War expansion.
Huxit possible if everything continues this way
But Orbán’s debate with the EU is not because of ideological reasons. It is about money. Budget commissioner Johannes Hahn said they would unlock EUR 13 billion of the allocations. But that means another EUR 15 billion will remain frozen. Mr Hahn is to come to Hungary next week for further negotiations but believes a Huxit is unrealistic since Hungary benefits from its membership, and people know that.
Leaving the EU would not make sense because the Hungarian economy is fused with the EU economy, PM Orbán regularly said. But his minister of finances, Mihály Varga, said during the pandemic that Hungary should reconsider its membership if the country becomes a net contributor in 2030. Hegedűs believes that was a test balloon to monitor public opinion.
“Hungary never managed to internalise EU values, it was really about the money”, Ágnes Urbán, director of Mérték Media Monitor, a media watchdog in Budapest, added. “Now that the money is not flowing, add to that the propaganda and the two together have a powerful effect.”
Bloomberg believes that Orbán’s anti-EU rhetoric blaming Brussels for every hardship, including even the war in Ukraine, the closure of the money taps and a continuing change of the yet pro-EU public opinion may trigger a Huxit.
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9 Comments
This Bloomberg article shows how little the authors believe in the EU solidarity. Money seems to be the only tie that holds the EU together, in their mind.
Pitiful how easily they throw around the HUXIT possibility.
They did not learn a damned thing about BREXIT. They even seem to wish Hungary to leave the EU.
To the Hungarian leaders EU membership is all about receiveing money. They themselves have openly said that HUXIT happens very likely as soon as Hungary has to pay more money to EU than receiving support money from EU. This has been noted in EU contries that contribute more than they receive so of course the sentiment in these contributing countries is that enough is enough. Hungary has received 100 billion euro more than it has paid during its membership. And they still show now respect for EU and democratically agreed regulations in EU. There is no solidarity on Hungarian side for EU so why should EU have solidarity towards Hungary? Its no suprise that finacial supporters of Hungary are questioning the dumping of EU money into a corrupted EU country that openly despises EU and the values of the majority in EU.
HUXIT is totally differeny than BREXIT. Instead of the losses in BREXIT, HUXIT will be a relief for the contributing countries of EU.
I am sure the EU can’t wait for HUXIT. Orban’s Hungary is like a pain in the butt.
I think the E.U. is at once a joke and a disaster, whose full effects won’t be seen for a couple generations. Contrived megalomaniacal creations like the E.U. never last, for obvious reasons, and this one is going to implode sooner or later, too. On balance though, it’s probably better for Hungary to remain part of the “club” for a bit longer, yet remain poised and ready to bolt quickly once the proverbial starts hitting the fan. Let’s also note that Hungary annually gets 400 euros net per citizen. It’s hardly a gigantic sum of money worth losing your history, identity, statehood, and sovereignty for!
To the thousands of multinational manufacturers in Hungary, HUXIT is a non-starter, it will never happen. True, the unelected and expensive bureaucracy in Brussels, as well as the EU Parliament in Strasbourg are completely unnecessary. The free movement of people and goods can be assured with multilateral agreements, just as it was before the birth of the EU. The role and structure of the EU must be revamped, but the same could be said about NATO as well…
Fix it, not HUXIT.
HUXIT, go for it, anytime. I never liked this EU expention from the beginning. Never give up your control of your own borders, currency, military, language. The EU expention is the first phase of the globalization, global social ghetto, loss of freedom, loss of sovereignty, the $oros New World Order.
Isn’t each country that joined the EU after the first 11 or so started it joining for the money and benefits? It is the same with Spain, bankrupt Greece and so on.
Same prices, same rights, open borders, all in the same boat (income, rights, pension, healthcare, and so on) is a big joke. The common man does not benefit from it at all.
The countries of the EU have nothing in common. Most countries still hate/fight their neighbours because of history. We only like each other if it comes to travelling. The money the tourists bring.
Each PM of a country tries to receive as much money as possible unless they believe they will get a bigger voice if they pay more like NL once did (but no way it worked).
There was (a good) life before the EU and there will be one after the EU. The present EU is no unity of nations but a disaster. It only divided people.
I would say: exit for all
Bloomberg, himself, would have a heart attack if anyone in his media empire would prints something nice or good about Hungary. Bloomberg is a globalist. Hungary failed to cede sovereignty to the globalists. The EU could and would work only, if it was an economic block, and not bending to the will of globalists. The EU parliament has no business interfering in countries’ interior affairs. Hungary is probably the only sane member. Hungary did not condemn the western governments for opening their borders, causing internal strife because of different cultures and religion thereby lowering their citizens’ standard of living. Western EU countries accepted and keep accepting uneducated hordes instead of helping people in their countries. Hungary is the prime example what an EU member should be and should be commended and copied.