Page 16 - CE Outlook Regions 2024

would ease his isolation in the EU.
A victory by Donald Trump would be the icing on the cake for Hungary’s prime minister, who is the only EU leader to openly endorse the former US president as he did in 2016, when he was still a candidate. For many Trumpist Republicans, the Hungarian illiberal leader is a Christian conservative role model, which shows that Orban has successfully exported his illiberal ideology abroad.
In a recent interview, Hungary’s 60-year-old leader said he does not plan to leave the EU, but occupy it. Fidesz spin doctors continue to gauge public opinion on Huxit, but polls show that support for EU membership is high despite the government’s anti-EU rhetoric and negative campaigns. Hungary’s economy would be crippled without EU funds, as the country has been one of the biggest beneficiaries since joining the block in 2004. EU funds could start to arrive in 2024 after the European Commission decided to unblock €10.2bn in funds in the 2021-2027 budget before the December 14-15 summit.
Leaders of the EU’s largest parliamentary fractions called on the European Commission to hold back the entire sum, around €33bn including the RRF grants and loans, until Hungary meets all super milestones. There is still the ongoing conditionality mechanism, which blocks further billions of euros of funds. Budapest’s RRF plan was approved by Brussels in late 2022. The majority of the €6.4bn in grants and €3.9bn in loans would go for investments to accelerate green transition.
1.4 Politics - Slovakia
In December, the country's new cabinet, led by leftist populist Robert Fico and his Smer party, approved a set of legislative measures aimed at dismantling the Special Prosecutor Office and changes in the criminal code, including revision of already passed criminal sentences and weakening of the status of whistleblowers. These sparked country-wide protests, backed by opposition parties, which are very likely to continue in 2024.
The opposition, led by the centrist Progressive Slovakia, has also obstructed December parliamentary sessions to delay the legislation, and the country's liberal president, Zuzana Caputova, said she would consider using her veto against the judiciary overhaul.
Fico’s cabinet, seen by opposition and the critics as attempting to
16 CE Outlook 2021 www.intellinews.com