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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday (19 July) that his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte was mainly to blame for the deadlock at the EU summit.
"I don't know what is the personal reason for the Dutch prime minister to hate me or Hungary, but he is attacking so harshly," he told reporters in front of the steps of the Museum for European History in a Brussels park, a few steps away from the summit venue.
"I don't like blame games but the Dutchman is the real culprit for the whole mess... The Dutch prime minister, he is the fighter."
Hungary, where Orban has tightened his grip on the media, academics and civil society, threatened even before the summit got underway on Friday to veto the package over a proposal to freeze funds for states undercutting the rule of law.
"What's going on is a little bit strange because there is a 100% agreement on the rule of law," Orban said.
"If somebody is not ready to accept the rule of law, they should leave the EU immediately. They should not be punished financially."
He said "these guys who inherited freedom, rule of law and political democracy" did not have the experience that he and others in eastern Europe had fighting against communism.
