Secret Brexit compromise? – Is Hungary about to veto the EU extension?

UK PM Boris Johnson and Foreign Minister of Hungary Péter Szijjártó were in the same building along with the Hungarian Ambassador right before calling for an emergency meeting for the Cabinet on Friday. 

Péter Szijjártó and Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczk were caught on tape leaving the Cabinet office on Friday morning, express.co.uk reports. It was taken at the same time as Boris Johnson called for an emergency Cabinet meeting, providing a reason for speculation about a Hungarian veto for the Brexit extension request. 

“Keep an eye on Hungary. The fact that Boris Johnson is saying he’ll ask for #BrexitExtension soon after meeting with one of the countries most likely to want to veto the extension request… concerns me…” 

tweeted Femi Oluwole, a remain campaigner, on Twitter. Users joined the speculation immediately in the comment section: “Curious. Is Johnson getting Hungary to veto his EU extension?” Another wrote: “So the theory is, No. 10 had a chat with Hungary this week to get them to veto an extension to A50?”

“There is, so far as I can see, still one, and only one, way through for the Government to 31 October. If they can cause an r27 to veto the extension the statements to the court are fine and the PM gets to deliver his promise. If (as I now expect) the Court orders that the PM not frustrate or thwart the terms of the Benn Act in the terms we have sought then (I believe) the Government is screwed. We will not be able to make good on whatever we might have promised eg Hungary and they will know it,” 

Jolyon Maugham QC posted. Previously, Hungary refused to veto the Brexit extension. According to Péter Szijjártó,

“If there is such a request, we’ll make our own decision. A few large western European member states really want to put an end to this and want it decided one way or another, so probably it won’t be our decision that will be key on this issue,” 

said the Hungarian Foreign Minister.