Hungary Sets Condition for Lifting Its Veto on €50 Billion for Ukraine – Politico
Hungary claims that it may lift its veto from the €50 billion EU aid package for Ukraine on condition that the financing will be reviewed annually.
According to Politico, three EU diplomats, Budapest claimed that it may lift its veto on condition that the European Council will approve the voting for the annual allocation of funds.
Politico states that this would give Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán an opportunity to block the financing for Ukraine every year in order to achieve concessions from Brussels in exchange for lifting the veto.
Hungary voiced this proposal during the meeting of 27 EU budget experts on 5 January and sent a corresponding document to the EU Council, which is headed by Belgium at the moment.
A diplomat familiar with the course of the negotiations stated that according to the proposition, the EU would provide Ukraine with €12.5 billion in the form of grants and loans, which would reach the amount of €50 billion suggested by the European Commission in four years.
Some EU diplomats are sceptical of this proposition despite the change in Hungary’s rhetoric, which was categorically against the allocation of funds for Ukraine in any form earlier.
They note that the Hungarian proposal will not guarantee stability for Ukraine.
"MFF (the EU’s seven-year budget) is a multiannual framework, we cannot do it (agree on it – ed.) on a year-to-year basis," said an EU diplomat.
The issue of financing Ukraine by the EU is on the agenda of the meeting of the ambassadors of the EU member states planned for 10 January.
After the December EU summit, many leaders expressed certainty that the EU would definitely adopt a decision about financial support for Ukraine at the beginning of the year.
The European Union will hold an extraordinary summit to discuss the allocation of €50 billion in additional assistance to Ukraine for a four-year period on 1 February 2024.
According to the media, the EU prepares a plan B with €20 billion of financial aid for Ukraine in case Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán blocks the main €50 billion plan.