Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, upon arrival at the EU summit, where important decisions on Ukraine are expected, said that Hungary's opinion is a "starting point" and that a lot of things are still possible, UNN reports citing Politico.
Blocking decisions on Ukraine "would also cause great damage to Hungary, so it remains to be seen whether this will happen or not."
Rutte emphasized that it is not just about convincing Hungary: "The question is not what we can offer someone, but what we can do collectively to reach an agreement in favor of a secure Europe," he said.
According to The Guardian, the outgoing Rutte said that the timing of the release of 10 billion euros of withheld funds to Hungary ahead of the EU summit was "inevitable".
"They had to make a decision by Friday. I know that the timing raised eyebrows, but I think it was inevitable because the decision had to be made by Friday," he said.
To recap,
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban showed no signs of being ready to compromise on Ukraine's EU accession when he arrived at the summit on Thursday morning.