Guy Verhofstadt directly confronted Ursula von der Leyen in the chamber of the European Parliament, accusing the European Commission President of “giving in to blackmail” by Viktor Orban’s Hungary, in a clip shared on social media.
The former Belgian Prime Minister and frequent Brexit critic shared the two-minute clip, during which he addresses Ms von der Leyen in English, via X, previously Twitter.
Mr Verhofstadt was speaking after a row erupted between the Commission and the European Parliament over the proposed transfer of £9.5billion (€11billion) in funds to Budapest.
The parliament is ready to launch legal action over claims that the commission has given Hungarian Prime Minister Mr Orban what he wanted in order to win approval to begin EU membership talks with Ukraine.
As the former German defence minister sits in her chair, grinning awkwardly, Mr Verhofstadt said: “Can I ask you a simple question? A very simple question.
“That is, are you going to repeat the practice that happened during the previous European Council in December?
“You remember that? The blackmail by Viktor Orban to use the veto and then just before that European Council, the de-freezing of this, I think it was, €11billion in exchange to the fact that he would leave the room.
“And that was the deal: €11billion and you leave the room. So my question to you is, are you going to do that again, because it could happen on the first of February.
“That is, that he again use his veto now for another thing, not for the accession negotiations, but for liberating the $50 billion funds that are desperately needed for Ukraine.”
As Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator, looked on, Mr Verhofstadt continued: “I have to tell you very openly before you answer that, if your answer is yes, then you will run I think in big trouble here in this Parliament, not only with me, not only with my group, but I think with the vast majority of this Parliament.
“I have to tell you, giving into the blackmail of Orban, like it happened in December, has to stop now.
“And also the compromises that have been put on the table to do a slice, to make a little a yearly portion of that money or to get a mid-term review on that money, are not a compromise because it’s simply opening the door for more blackmailing by Orban in the coming years.
“So the appeal that I want to launch to you, hopefully I think in the name of the vast majority of this Parliament is stay inside the treaties.”
The £9.5billion was only meant to be released if Hungary had shown sufficient effort to force through some rule of law reforms on judicial independence and political interference.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Ms von der Leyen claimed that Hungary had pushed through measures to earn the release of funds.
She insisted the European Commission had no option but to approve the funds and strongly denied the two issues – the funds and Ukraine’s membership bid – were linked.
She added: “These are the rules we have all agreed to.
“We will follow them. This is what makes the rule of law stand out from arbitrary power.”
