L-R: António Costa, President of the European Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
It is shocking that while a war mafia in Ukraine is pocketing European taxpayers’ money, instead of ordering an audit or possibly suspending further payments, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, is proposing that we send even more money, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a video posted on Facebook on Monday.
The head of government said he had received a letter from Ursula von der Leyen. In the letter, she reportedly writes that the amount missing from Ukraine’s financing is significant. “And in this letter, she asks us for money. The president is asking the member states for money,” the Prime Minister said, summarizing the contents of the letter. He noted that he is trying to understand and will endeavor to respond to the letter on Tuesday if possible, but that it is “not so simple.”
I am trying to restrain my initial instinct to write a polite letter, because it is shocking that while it turns out that a war mafia in Ukraine is pocketing European taxpayers’ money—God knows where exactly—instead of ordering an audit or perhaps suspend further payments, the president of the commission is proposing that we send even more money,”
he said.
Viktor Orbán added that this is like trying to wean an alcoholic off drinking by sending him another crate of vodka. “I will have to politely convey this thought to the president tomorrow,” said the Prime Minister.
In his post accompanying the video, the prime minister wrote: “We will not withdraw our money from the golden piggy bank!”
Last Monday, Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities (NABU and SAPO, whose independence the Ukrainian government attempted to abolish in July) published a detailed report on the investigation into a high-profile corruption case involving Ukrainian oligarch Timur Mindich, also known as Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “treasurer,” as reported by hirado.hu.
After 15 months of investigation, the anti-corruption authorities came across thousands of hours of audio recordings, on the basis of which they came to the following conclusion:
The actors in the scandal operated a comprehensive corruption network to control state-owned energy companies, including Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear energy company.”
According to 444, the Ukrainian press has reported that in the course of the investigation, the authorities also found audio recordings in which Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s voice can be heard.
In addition to oligarch Timur Mindich, the investigation was extended to the Ministry of Justice under Herman Halushchenko and the Ministry of Energy under Svitlana Hrynchuk. The latter submitted her resignation after the publication of the NABU report, following a video message from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling on her to do so. Zelenskyy also demanded Halushchenko’s resignation.
During a search of Timur Mindich’s apartment, authorities reportedly found bundles of dollars packed in sports bags as well as a golden toilet.
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Via MTI, hirado.hu, 444; Featured image: newsroom.consilium.europa.eu
The post Viktor Orbán Responds to von der Leyen’s Request to Boost Ukraine’s Funding appeared first on Hungary Today.
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