As European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn stated, Hungary is unlikely to be able to blackmail the EU now, as it needs funding itself.
Hahn recalled that a year ago, the European Parliament announced that Hungary could not be considered a functional democracy temporarily, due to the actions of Viktor Orbán’s government. As a result, the EU has blocked €22B in financing for the country. The European Commissioner noted that Budapest has made “certain progress” over the year, but this is still insufficient to restore tranches of aid to Hungary.
He also believes that Hungary will not be able to constantly use consensus voting since the EC can make the necessary decisions, bypassing Hungary. Hahn believes that Hungary, which often blocks EU decision-making, has a vested interest in seeing the EU budget passed – because “Hungary is also interested in more money to protect its borders.”