Concerns over the U.S. support and Orban’s new demands: a digest of Western mass media

Authors

Hennadii Kats , Artur Gmyria

Highlights from Western mass media on November 6–10

Debates around spending bills for the year ahead are ongoing in the U.S. Congress. Despite the replacement of the speaker, the House of Representatives still hasn’t reached an agreement on aid to Ukraine, spending cuts, and other issues, with only a week remaining to settle them.

Meanwhile, America's allies in the Indo-Pacific are concerned about Washington's involvement in the war in Gaza, Viktor Orbán is threatening to block EU talks with Ukraine, and G7 leaders have pledged to continue supporting Kyiv despite the unfavorable international situation.

offers a digest of Western mass media at the end of the November 6–10, 2023, business week.

A shutdown is once again looming in the U.S.

For the second time this year, the U.S. government on Thursday began making formal preparations for a possible federal shutdown, The Washington Post reports. Unless Congress reaches an agreement before November 17, approximately two million federal workers, including 1.3 million active-duty troops, won’t receive their pay.

In a shutdown, only the most vital government services would function. Most federal health-care, education, science, research and labor programs would sputter or cease.

Mike Johnson delivering his inaugural speech as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Photo: Getty Images

Meanwhile, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have made little progress since staving off the last potential shutdown less than two months ago. A small but powerful bloc of far-right House Republicans, which recently ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker, has refused to consider any short-term funding deal unless it includes steep budget cuts. President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats see this approach as unpalatable.

In recent days, House Republicans proposed to adopt a short-term funding measure with separate funding deadlines for each federal agency, but Democrats rejected this mechanism as well. For the second time this week, Speaker Mike Johnson has had to withdraw spending legislation due to internal party disputes about its conditions.

The two parties also remain at sharp odds over emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel. GOP lawmakers generally support money only for Israel, and they hope to couple the spending with domestic budget cuts and other, unrelated policies.

The U.S. allies are concerned: Will the assistance suffice for all?

America’s long-promised pivot to Asia was finally gathering momentum, argues the author of an analytical piece in The New York Times. The United States struck new security deals with the Philippines and India, expanded military exercises, and planned measures to stay ahead of Chinese technology.

But America’s partners in the Indo-Pacific worry that the sudden focus on the war in Gaza will prevent the United States from countering Beijing.

"What concerns us most is the diversion of the U.S. military’s resources from East Asia to Europe, to the Middle East," Akihisa Nagashima, a lawmaker and former national security adviser in Japan, said at a strategy forum in Sydney, Australia, last week. "We really hope that conflict is completely finished pretty soon."

American military commanders have said that no equipment has left the Indo-Pacific. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken set out on a trip to India, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia to reassure the allies.

But what these countries all share are questions about Washington’s ability to handle another distant war, on top of Ukraine, while preserving its presence in Asia.

The U.S. is under increasing pressure due to already two wars where they pledged to support one side. Antony Blinken during his visit to Tokyo on November 8. Photo: Getty Images

Weapons are one area of common concern. The defense industry in the United States has struggled with shortages of ammunition being provided to both Ukraine and Israel, including 155-millimeter artillery shells. Meanwhile, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia could face delays on military equipment that has been contracted and promised by the United States.

"It’s not just hardware," said Andrew Nien-Dzu Yang, a former defense minister of Taiwan. "You have to teach or train the people to operate those systems. The concern is that the United States won’t have a more effective and abundant capacity to deter China."

Asked in Japan on Wednesday if the United States was too occupied with the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine to continue its pivot to Asia, Mr. Blinken said:

"I can tell you that we are determined and we are, as we would say, running and chewing gum at the same time. The Indo-Pacific is the critical region for our future. Even as we’re dealing with a real crisis in Gaza and the Middle East, we’re also not only able, but we’re fully engaged in all of the interests we have in the Indo-Pacific."

EU-Ukraine talks: Orban balking again

The EU must not start membership talks with Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday, according to Reuters.

EU countries' leaders are due to decide in mid-December on whether to accept the Commission's recommendation to invite Kyiv to begin membership talks as soon as it meets final conditions. Any such decision requires unanimity of the bloc's 27 members.

Orban, in power since 2010, said a dispute between Brussels over billions of euros of EU funds suspended for Hungary over a rule-of-law issue cannot be linked in any way to Hungary's support for Ukraine's EU accession talks.

Orban and Putin in China on October 17. Viktor Orban is the only European politician who has met with Putin this year. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Sajtóiroda/Fischer Zoltán

"Membership talks must not be started, this is the clear Hungarian stance," Orban said, adding that Brussels "owed Hungary money."

Orban is faced with economic stagnation this year and a widening budget deficit. Investors have been eyeing Budapest's talks with Brussels over the EU funds very closely, with bitter run-ins over Budapest tightening state controls over non-governmental organizations, academics, media, and courts.

The Group of Seven is prepared for long-term confrontation with Russia

According to BBC, leaders of the G7 group of countries have insisted that their support for Ukraine "will never waver", even amid growing tensions in the Middle East.

At a G7 meeting in Japan on November 8, the bloc's foreign ministers said they recognised that Russia is prepared for a long war and reiterated that they would continue to support Kyiv economically and militarily.

A statement from the Japanese foreign ministry said leaders agreed on the need to impose severe sanctions on Russia and continue to support Ukraine, "even in today's international situation" — a reference to the situation in the Middle East.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi at the latest NATO summit in Vilnius on July 12. That NATO summit brought Ukraine closer to the alliance, but still left a lot of uncertainty

American Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the bloc stood "united in [its] condemnation of Russia's war".

But the strong rhetoric masks growing tensions as the war drags on. Kyiv is increasingly concerned about "Ukraine fatigue" among Western countries, which erodes its ability to hold off Russian forces.

A new U.S. assistance package for Ukraine of about $60 billion requested by President Joe Biden has been held up by opposition from Republican members of Congress. American officials say current aid will run out within weeks, with potentially disastrous consequences for Ukrainian forces.

Internal Ukrainian unity is also showing signs of stress. This month, disagreements between President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, spilled out into the open after Zaluzhnyi said in an interview that the war had reached a "stalemate". In response, Zelenskyi appealed to Ukrainians "not to drown in infighting".