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Europe’s Battle With Its Eastern Rebels Leaves Lasting Damage

Hungary and Poland reached a compromise over European funding, but the standoff will have enduring consequences.

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When Viktor Orban spoke on his regular radio slot last week, the Hungarian prime minister offered a thought: Maybe leaving the European Union wasn’t such a bad thing.

Orban was responding to Brexit Britain becoming the first country in the western world to start a vaccination program for coronavirus. The message, though, was clear as Hungary and Poland threatened to veto the EU’s $2.2 trillion spending plan in their own showdown with Brussels.