BARCELONA, Spain — Last week, representatives of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vetoed more than $19 billion in new European Union funding for Ukraine, but he backed off the position this week, clearing the way for the money to reach embattled Kyiv.

The reversal wasn’t due to a fundamental switch of opinion by Orbán, the most pro-Russian leader in the 27-member EU and an ally of prominent American conservatives like former President Donald Trump. Instead, the Hungarian strongman’s stance changed after he was threatened with the loss of nearly $14 billion in much-needed EU funding. The EU had promised the money on the condition that he follow through with promises to make his government more democratic and beholden to the rule of law.

With Hungary’s economy teetering, the country abandoned its brinkmanship — at least for the time being.

“The Hungarian economy is in a very, very dark situation right now,” Péter Krekó, executive director of Political Capital, a Hungarian policy research institute, told Yahoo News. “And its currency is plummeting.” He suspects that Orbán, serving a fourth consecutive term as prime minister, is feeling desperate.

In a round of carrot-and-stick negotiations, Brussels announced Tuesday that it would release only part of the EU money for Hungary — about $6 billion — but demanded that Orbán’s government carry on with various reforms, including reducing corruption and making Budapest’s judicial branch more independent.

Zsuzsanna Szelényi, a former member of Hungary’s Parliament and the author of a new book about Orbán, “Tainted Democracy,” told Yahoo News that she no longer considers Hungary a democracy due to its lack of transparency and checks against the prime minister’s power.

“This country is a mess,” said Szelényi.

And Hungary, which is poorer than many of its EU counterparts, is especially dependent on EU funds. By one measure from 2020, the country of 9.7 million people netted more funding per capita from Brussels than any other member state.

“Since Viktor Orbán came to power, Hungary has received 49 billion euros [just over $52 billion] in financial support,” said Daniel Freund, a member of the European Parliament representing Germany’s Green Party. “It’s supposed to go to ordinary Hungarians, to renovate schools, to bring fast internet to the countryside. Instead, it’s enriching the family and friends of Viktor Orbán, who have basically turned Hungary into a mafia state.” Orbán associates, he said, now control entire industries, including the bulk of Hungary’s construction, recycling and waste management.