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Orbán’s cabinet reveals exactly how many thousands of billions of euros Ukraine’s EU integration could cost
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Balázs Orbán, the prime minister’s political director, estimated the cost of Ukraine’s EU integration to be EUR 2,500bn over several years, speaking at Monday’s Economx Money Talks 25 business conference in Budapest.
Putting the amount in context, Orbán said it was twelve times the EU budget for this year. He warned that integrating Ukraine would consume all the resources needed to meet the EU’s other challenges and weaken Hungary’s strategic position.
Orbán said that conservative estimates put the cost of rebuilding Ukraine at USD 500bn, while Ukrainian sources see that cost reaching as much as EUR 1,000bn. He added that the country would also need USD 100bn a year to operate, most of which would come from the EU.
He said the government’s nationwide survey to gauge support for Ukraine’s EU integration addressed one of the most important economic and strategic questions in recent years.
He said that Hungary has a response to the new challenges, a connectivity strategy, which is not only possible, but also politically desirable.
Customs policy is not a simple issue, because it is in the hands of Brussels, which is still trying to negotiate on the basis of the old world order. The Hungarian Government is convinced that there must be and will be an agreement between the United States and the EU, and attention will be drawn to this on an ongoing basis.
Germany will be great. Not only economy, but also military. With nuclear bombs, I hope. The most powerful country in Europe!
How much does the integration of the Balkan states including Serbia cost? Is it free? Tell us.
Can I just say I find this Europe of nations thing our Politicians are propagating and the law of the jungle (… tariffs, threat to sovereignty …) a tad scary?
For example, an economically (already) powerful, armed to the teeth Germany with a populist leader (“Germany First!”), sometime in the coming decades seems very concerning. Or am I alone in this?