The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 14th, 2023: Hungary Holds EU Hostage & Iran's Ominous Red Sea Warning

Episode Date: December 14, 2023

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     A showdown is brewing in Brussels today between Hungary and their fellow European Union members, as tensions mount over whether to grant additional emergency aid to Ukraine and allow them to begin proceedings to join the EU. Iran is threatening the U.S. over plans to establish an international maritime taskforce to protect shipping vessels in the Red Sea from Iranian-back Houthi militants, warning any efforts would face “extraordinary problems.” Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Thursday, December 14th. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. A showdown is brewing in Brussels today between Hungary and their fellow European Union members, as tensions mount over whether to grant additional emergency aid to Ukraine and allow them to begin proceedings to join the EU. Also, Iran has issued a new threat to the U.S. over plans to establish an international maritime task force to protect shipping vessels in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houti militants, warning the U.S. that any efforts would face, quote, extraordinary problems. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Members of the European Union are set for a political showdown with fellow member Hungary

at a critical summit of European leaders in Brussels today. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán has spent weeks threatening to veto a critical $53 billion aid package for Ukraine. He's also standing in the way of granting Ukraine fast-track membership into the EU, which is at the top of the agenda in Brussels today. European leaders are increasingly desperate to find a way to sway Orban to give his support for both the emergency aid package and EU membership. On Wednesday, the EU granted Hungary access to 10 billion euros, previously frozen, over concerns that Orban has been eroding democratic norms in Hungary.

Orban is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he indicated on Wednesday that he was willing to, quote, make financial deals on financial matters, though it's unclear if the 10 billion euros will be enough to change in. position. An additional 21 billion euros remained frozen, and an advisor to Orban had stated Tuesday that Hungary would only consider contributing to Ukraine if all of their funds were released by the EU. Now, despite the uncertainties, an unnamed senior EU official told the Financial Times that they were hopeful a deal could be reached with Hungary, at least on the issue of Ukrainian

aid, by the end of the week. Members of the European Parliament expressed deep concern at the decision to unfreeze a portion of the Hungarian assets, saying Orban has done nothing to address EU concerns regarding his government. Despite the early concession, Orban appeared unmoved when he arrived in Brussels for the summit yesterday evening. He said, Hungary would not bow to pressure and that there are conditions for Ukraine and they were not met. Now, Ukrainian President Zelensky is experienced. expected to make an appearance at this summit, which he called, diplomatically, not an easy meeting to make a final plea to European leaders to approve the much-needed financial and

military aid package. Zelensky also challenged Hungary regarding Ukraine's proposed membership into the EU, claiming that Ukraine has, quote, done absolutely everything to prevent one or another state blocking the beginning of this negotiation. In a jab at Orban, Zelensky said that If the EU ultimately failed to approve Ukraine's bid for membership at the summit this week, it would show that, quote, Putin has vetoed this decision. Now, on the issue of aid, a senior EU diplomat said that if Hungary continued to stand in the way, they would simply go around them. They cited the possibility of the remaining 26 states in the EU making a side deal

outside of the EU's standard budgetary framework. Speaking to Reuters, the unnamed diplomat said, one way or another, we will find the way to give Ukraine money. As Zelensky, of course, is in dire need of fresh financial assistance, particularly after his trip to the U.S. earlier this week, failed to sway congressional Republicans to act on a $61 billion aid package that's languished in Congress for weeks. We've mentioned this before on the PDB,

But the most serious consequence of the dithering and political bickering currently underway in the U.S. and the EU regarding continued support for Ukraine is that it's convinced Putin that he has the upper hand, that he can simply outweigh the West and eventually get his hands on more or all of Ukraine. Look, Victor Orban of Hungary is just a tool in Putin's kit bag. Putin was caught off guard, of course, by NATO's resolute response. to his invasion of Ukraine and certainly surprised by the fact that his actions actually strengthened and grew NATO rather than split to the organization. He's now hoping that Hungary's Orban can drive even a small wedge in the EU and NATO and weaken their resolve. All right, coming up after the break,

Iran is threatening the U.S. over plans to establish an international maritime task force to protect shipping vessels in the Red Sea from Iranian-backed Houthi militants. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Continuing our ongoing coverage of the situation in the Red Sea where Iranian-backed-Houti rebels continue to carry out attacks on commercial shipping. Iran is now issuing a threat to the United States, saying that efforts to defend maritime trade in the area

are going to create, quote, extraordinary problems. Before we get to Iran's warning, let's get up to speed on the latest from the Red Sea, where there have been two major incidents just this week. The first incident took place on Monday when Yemen-Zeran-backed Houthi rebels struck a Norwegian commercial tanker, the Strinda, with an anti-ship cruise missile. Now, the attack happened approximately 60 nautical miles north of the Bob Al-Mandab Strait, a crucial juncture where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean. Houthis claimed they targeted the Strinda because it was transporting crude oil to an Israeli terminal

and disregarded all warnings. In response to the Strinda's distress calls, the U.S. Navy destroyer Mason intervened, assisting the tanker's crew in managing a fire on board. The second incident this week also involved the USS Mason. On Wednesday, the destroyer intercepted and destroyed a drone launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. the U.S. Navy reported no injuries or damage. Now, the Bab al-Mandab Strait is a critical route for global trade, particularly for the transport of oil. An estimated 6.2 million barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products passed through this straight daily, and with recent attacks by Iran's proxies, the choke point

needs to be defended. In response to the escalating tensions, the U.S. and French navies have increased their presence in the Red Sea. However, the Biden administration is seeking a broader, more international approach. The White House recently announced that they're engaged in discussions with various countries to establish a maritime task force, and the initiative aims to guarantee the safe passage of ships through the Red Sea. However, this proposed international task force, well, it's not been well received by Iran. Iranian defense minister, Mohamed Reza Ashdani, conveyed a strong message, as reported by official Iranian media. The defense minister warned of extraordinary problems if such a task force backed by the United

States were to be formed. Here's exactly what the defense minister said, quote, if they make such an irrational move, they'll be faced with extraordinary problems. Nobody can make a move in a region where we, meaning Iran, have predominance. Okay, apparently, the defense minister, is under the impression that the Iranian regime rules the seas in that part of the world. Look, the regime has been emboldened lately. They've launched almost a hundred missile and drone attacks via their regional proxies on U.S. and allied personnel and facilities, and have yet,

frankly, to be deterred by any of the limited counter strikes carried out by the U.S. government. At some point, and forgive me for the statement of the obvious, but at some point the U.S. and allies will need to actually engage in a deterrent strategy aimed at the Iranian regime to put an end to their regional ambitions. There will be no long-term peace in the Middle East as long as the Iranian regime is allowed to pursue its goal of dominating the region, destroying Israel, and supporting terrorism around the globe. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 14 December. If you have any questions or comments, please. reach out to me at PDB at thefirstTV.com.

I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.