Europeans increasingly uncomfortable with Orbán in the room

Good morning from Brussels,

As European leaders brace for another battle at an EU Council to convince Viktor Orbán to greenlight a €50 billion aid package to Ukraine, several diplomats explained to Euractiv that the general picture is even more concerning.

Many EU countries are “increasingly uncomfortable” talking about sensitive foreign and security matters if the Hungarian leader or Budapest officials are in the room because of their close economic and political ties with Moscow, Alexandra Brzozowski and Petr Kozlov report.

Some estimate that Orbán has become a persistent objector aiming to buy time until the EU elections or even the US vote in November, hoping for a change in political balances. Meanwhile, he has an open invitation to join the EU far-right group in the EU Parliament, the ID (AfD) Vice-President, Gunnar Beck, told Euractiv in an interview.

Last but not least, a story from Georgi Gotev in Sofia raises eyebrows: The Bulgarian counterintelligence agency SANS has been accused of failing to thwart an illegal scheme allowing Russians to acquire Bulgarian -- and therefore EU citizenship -- with the help of false documents.

EU election flash poll: The national-conservative ECR group may overtake the liberal Renew Europe group as the fourth-largest political force in the European Parliament if the liberals’ downward trend persists, according to Europe Elects' latest projection for Euractiv.

While EU leaders will hold a heated debate over the EU Ukraine aid, outside, several agricultural groups from across Europe will be protesting. Maria Simon Arboleas reports that it’s not certain that the Commission’s new proposal could help calm things down.

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BERLIN | PARIS

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PARIS

French Socialist Party’s EU election list deemed too elitist. France’s Socialist Party is facing internal turmoil over its EU election list, which some in the party believe excludes “workers and employees”, according to a letter from federations and elected officials seen by AFP. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

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MADRID

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WARSAW

PiS party leader Jarosław Kaczyński is exerting pressure on President Andrzej Duda to call a snap election that might enable PiS to regain the power it lost to Prime Minister Donald Tusk last year. Read more.

PRAGUE

Czech winemakers urge EU dialogue on excise duty. An urgent dialogue on the future of European winemaking and a common EU approach towards the excise duty has been called for by the Czech Grape and Wine Producers Association in an open letter addressed to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

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SOFIA

The Bulgarian counterintelligence agency SANS has been accused of failing to thwart an illegal scheme allowing Russians to acquire Bulgarian — and therefore EU citizenship — with the help of false documents. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romanian government extends cap on food mark-ups for two months. Restrictions on commercial mark-ups to various essential foods were extended, as this measure has curbed speculative price increases, contributed to reducing inflation, and safeguarded the population’s purchasing power, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Wednesday. Read more.

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ZAGREB

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor, Sofia Stuart Leeson]