Hungary can lift its veto on EU aid to Ukraine, provided that this funding is reviewed every year.
This was reported by Politico on Tuesday, January 9.
According to three EU diplomats, Hungary has indicated that it may lift its veto on aid to Ukraine if the European Council unanimously approves funding on an annual basis instead of long-term support.
"In practice, this would give Orban the power to block EU funding for Ukraine every year - or to get concessions from Brussels for waiving his veto," the article says.
Hungary formulated the corresponding proposal during the meeting of 27 EU budget experts on January 5 and in a written document to the Belgian Presidency of the Council. According to a diplomat familiar with the process, according to the plan, the EU will provide Ukraine with EUR 12.5 billion in grants and loans each year, which means up to EUR 50 billion over four years. This amount is proposed by the European Commission in its mid-term budget review.
Politico writes that Orban's rhetoric has changed in recent weeks, as he previously opposed any grants to Ukraine from the EU budget. But several EU diplomats are skeptical, pointing out that the annual decision will not provide predictability for Ukraine. "The MFF (seven-year EU budget) is a multi-year structure, we cannot do it on a year-by-year basis," the publication quotes.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on November 22, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to block all EU aid to Ukraine, as well as to block the country's future accession to the bloc.
On December 15, Orban blocked the EU allocation of EUR 50 billion for Ukraine.
On December 21, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that he had accepted an invitation to a meeting with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.