PM Orban Sparks Diplomatic Row With 'Greater Hungary' Scarf

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sparked a diplomatic row with a number of surrounding countries after wearing a scarf to a football match depicting a map of the now defunct 'greater Hungary' containing territories now part of Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia.

• The Ukrainian gov't has summoned the Hungarian ambassador to explain Orban's controversial actions, demanding an apology. The Romanian Foreign Ministry comments that Orban's gesture "clearly contradicts the openness towards the resumption of bilateral dialogue, which the Romanian foreign minister expressed during his recent visit to Budapest, both during his consultations with the PM and his counterpart."
• While his relations with some other EU leaders have been in the deep-freeze for some time, the fallout from this action is unlikely to improve relations when the EU is banking on unanimous support for an EUR18bn aid package for Ukraine. Orban is currently blocking the package.
• Politico reports that "The European Commission is preparing to pay out €5.8 billion in jointly borrowed EU pandemic recovery cash to Orbán’s government, and is working on a compromise deal on the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism, under which Hungary stood to lose €7.5 billion in EU funds." Comes despite pressure from MEPs not to 'give in' on Hungary's rule-of-law conditionality demands.