German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said Tuesday that Europe’s “strength and determination has certainly suffered” during the “wrangling” between the European Union member states over the new sanctions against Russia agreed by the bloc on Monday.
Habeck accused Hungarian leader Viktor Orban of “ruthlessly” persevering his “own interests” during the negotiations of the sixth package of EU sanctions against Moscow.
The minister said there was a confusion between a short-term perspective of one’s own country and a long-term observing of principles which could only be embraced globally.
“I am irritated, and this is the polite way of putting it — how Viktor Orban can intervene so deeply that you ruthlessly just play poker for your own interests,“ Habeck said.
The big goal of this time for Europe is to achieve unity as an economic region, the minister stressed.
“Europe has to reinvent itself,” he said.