Scholz Persuades Orban to Step Out for Coffee: What Happened at the EU Summit

During discussions about the commencement of negotiations for Ukraine's membership in the European Union, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz invited Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to "step out for coffee". The chancellor made this remark in front of other EU representatives during a roundtable discussion on the negotiations, as reported by Politico, citing sources.

Following the conversation between Olaf Scholz and Viktor Orban, the latter left the room. According to Politico, the German Chancellor’s approach provided the necessary unanimity to make a decision to start negotiations between the EU and Kyiv regarding membership, as the rule is in effect considering the absence of one of the EU representatives.

Sources from the publication remarked that the actions of the German Chancellor surprised many in Brussels, as a decision was made while the Hungarian Prime Minister could still claim he did not vote in favor. After the negotiations, Mr. Orban wrote on Facebook that his position remains against it.

At the same time, EU countries failed to reach an agreement on a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine. European Council President Charles Michel announced that the decision has been postponed until an extraordinary meeting in January due to the veto placed by Viktor Orban.

It is worth noting that earlier it was reported that EU countries had decided to start negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova regarding their accession to the EU. Hungary and Slovakia opposed the initiation of those negotiations.