Hungary is standing by the EU on Ukraine

Thursday marked the beginning of a new era in European politics. Nowhere has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine been met with greater fear and trepidation than in central and eastern Europe, a region all too familiar with ‘brotherly help’ in the form of military occupation by a looming eastern power.

It may be a new era for Europe, but some things never change. In Hungary, which shares an 80-mile border with Ukraine, a tense atmosphere is laced with disbelief at the West’s ongoing portrayal of the country as a dubious ally threatening to sink EU sanctions.

It’s become a cliché of western analyses that Hungary is constantly looking to throw a spanner in the works of a joint EU response. After Russia formally recognised the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states on Monday, baseless rumours circulated that Hungary was considering vetoing the EU’s sanctions package. The Fidesz government hasn’t made any suggestions that this was or ever could be the case; but that didn’t stop a number of influential correspondents propagating the claim.