First the UK decided to leave the EU. Then in Poland, lawmakers started talking about it. Is Hungary now seriously considering Huxit? For the first time ever, Viktor Orbán has insinuated that leaving the union could be a possibility. The Hungarian Prime Minister kicked off his campaign for re-election over the weekend by attacking Brussels’s ‘Jihad’ against his country and suggesting that continued membership of the EU might not be possible.
This is obviously an alarming prospect for the EU. Over the course of Orbán’s premiership, Vladimir Putin has brought Hungary into his orbit. The latest step in that process was a 15-year gas deal signed in September. Russia will now supply about half of Hungary’s gas. The Kremlin has made other inroads, such as the state nuclear programme’s involvement in constructing two new reactors. If Russia did invade and occupy Ukraine, a Hungary outside of the EU and firmly inside Russia’s sphere of influence would place the sphere of Russian control at the gates of Vienna.
Over the course of Orbán’s premiership, Vladimir Putin has brought Hungary into his orbit
But if Orbán wanted to deliver on his thinly-veiled threat, he would need to jump through a number of legal and political hoops.
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