Ungarn, der EU-Rechtstaatlichkeitsmechanismus und Russlands Krieg gegen die Ukraine: die politische Geiselnahme außenpolitischer Entscheidungen

Abstract

The European Union’s (EU) as well as NATO’s internal cohesion and their capacity to act is crucial to meet the security challenges due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The article discusses Hungary’s threats to veto vital EU sanctions against Russia as well as NATO enlargement. In particular, we focus on how Hungary has resorted to hostage-taking strategies in the field of the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy as well as NATO to gain EU concessions in unrelated policy areas like the Article 7 procedure or the COVID recovery funds. In doing so, Hungary aims to articulate its veto threat in a credible way, but at the same time it is trying to minimise the associated loss of reputation. To date, Hungary has succeeded in obtaining selective concessions from the other EU member states without derailing the sanctions policies against Russia or the NATO enlargement process.