ER Editor: Notice the SAME strategy being reported for two (allegedly) moving-closer-together countries, Austria and Hungary. THEIR LEADERS WERE OUT THE ROOM when such-and-such an important decision was being made. Is this some sort of weird joke at the media level? A signal to us that a major geopolitical move is underway, that probably already happened some time back.
A reminder that, all of a sudden, globalist lapdog Karl Nehammer of Austria is part of the non-globalist team. Orban and Nehammer seem to be chumming up, avoiding votes on stupid, pro-globalist issues such as Russian sanctions (episode 12) and EU taxpayer monies to the Ukraine deep state sinkhole, and suddenly stepping out the room during a key vote is the way to do it. The Austro-Hungarian empire v.2 has its hands clean moving forward while the EU idiots continue to play the fool (we suspect they’ve been rounded up).
We believe the white hats are fully operative via Politico.eu.
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AND Orban just vetoed EU monies for Ukraine (Dec.15). See this by RT —
Hungary blocks EU’s $54 billion for Ukraine
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Austrian chancellor missed adoption of EU’s latest Russia sanctions – Politico
Karl Nehammer, whose country opposed the restrictions, was reportedly out of the room when the decision was made
RT
European Union member states have agreed to a 12th package of sanctions against Russia; however, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who had been holding up a decision on the latest set of punitive measures targeting Moscow, was reportedly not in the room, Politico reported.
While the text of the package had been agreed upon by all countries earlier this week, Austria reportedly wasn’t able to give its final approval until late Thursday, saying it needed time to examine the legal text. Reuters earlier wrote that sources familiar with the matter said the country had been trying to have Raiffeisen Bank International, the largest Western bank still operating in Russia, taken off a Ukrainian blacklist in return for Vienna’s willingness to sign off on new EU sanctions against Moscow.
European diplomats told Politico that Nehammer’s absence was just a coincidence, as he had left the room to speak with EC President Ursula von der Leyen about the EU accession of Romania and Bulgaria. However, ironically, earlier in the day, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán seemed to have resorted to the same maneuver. Orban left the leaders’ room when they decided to go ahead with accession talks for Ukraine, to allow for a unanimous decision in what the media wrote was “the coffee break that saved Ukraine’s membership talks.”
According to Reuters, despite Austria’s reported efforts to take it off Ukraine’s blacklist, Raiffeisen is still there. The new penalties include a direct ban on imports of non-industrial Russian diamonds starting from January 1 and a phased ban on diamond imports from third countries starting from March, in alignment with the G7 countries. Other sanctions include toughening the proof required of companies which claim they adhere to the G7 Russian oil price cap.
The package also added measures to prevent Russia from getting dual-use goods by obliging EU companies’ counterparties to sign contracts when buying certain products which prohibit their re-sale to Russia. A notification procedure for Russian citizens or entities in Russia wishing to transfer more than 100,000 euros (over $109,000) out of the EU was also incorporated into the sanctions package.
The EU has already imposed 11 rounds of sanctions on Russia since the beginning of its conflict with Ukraine in early 2022, aiming to weaken the country’s economy by depriving it of access to critical technology and markets, and by curtailing its income from the export of raw materials. In response, Russia has redirected much of its trade to Asia, primarily India and China. Speaking during a marathon Q&A session on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the US and its allies are largely “shooting themselves in the foot” by slapping Russia with new sanctions, which he said ended up hurting them more than they did Moscow.
Source
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If Orbán really wasn’t willing to agree to opening enlargement talks with Kyiv, Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested, he should consider leaving the room briefly. Scholz addressed the recommendation to the Hungarian leader in front of his EU counterparts gathered around the circular negotiation table at Thursday’s leaders’ summit.
The idea, Scholz said, would allow the 26 EU leaders who remained to approve Ukraine’s road to accession with the required unanimity — which EU rules say is also fulfilled if one leader is absent — while Orbán could still say he hadn’t voted in favor. (ER: Good grief.)
After the two men spoke on the sidelines, Orbán left the room, paving the way for the EU’s historic decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine after days of uncertainty given Orbán’s vehement opposition.
Scholz’s remarkable strategy, which was described to POLITICO by three officials with knowledge of the events, raised eyebrows in Brussels and beyond. The chancellor’s performance on the European stage since he was appointed in 2021 has been a disappointment so far, with critics noting his lack of tactical negotiating and communication skills compared to former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The idea that a EU leader had to leave the room to be unanimous is highly unusual. In fact, EU officials and diplomats at the summit on Thursday could not say if Scholz’s move had ever been used before.
“He used an old trick from his time with the Young Socialists,” said one official at the EU summit, referring to the youth organization of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) in which the chancellor served as deputy chairman during the 1980s. The official, like others quoted, was granted anonymity to speak about the ongoing EU summit discussions.
CONTINUE READING HERE
Featured image via Politico.eu: After the two men spoke on the sidelines, Orbán left the room, paving the way for the EU’s historic decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine after days of uncertainty given Orbán’s vehement opposition | Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
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Published to The Liberty Beacon from EuropeReloaded.com
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