Hungary sets condition for lifting its veto on €50 billion for Ukraine – Politico

Hungary claims that it may lift its veto from the EUR50 billion EU aid package for Ukraine on condition that the funding will be reviewed annually. Source: European Pravda with reference to Politico Details: According to three EU diplomats, Budapest has claimed that it may lift its veto on condition that the European Council will approve a vote to allocate funds on an annual basis.

Politico states that this would give Hungarian PM Viktor Orban an opportunity to block funding for Ukraine every year,  or to achieve concessions from Brussels in exchange for lifting the veto.  

Hungary voiced this proposal during a meeting of 27 EU budget experts on 5 January and sent a corresponding document to the EU Council, for which Belgium holds the presidency at the moment. A diplomat familiar with the course of the negotiations stated that according to the proposal, the EU would provide Ukraine with EUR12.5 billion in the form of grants and loans, which would reach the amount of EUR50 billion suggested by the European Commission over four years. Some EU diplomats are sceptical of this proposal, despite the change in Hungary's rhetoric, which earlier was categorically against the allocation of funds for Ukraine in any form.

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 EU funding for Ukraine is on the agenda of the meeting of the ambassadors of the EU member states planned for 10 January.

Background: 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 EUR50 billion in additional assistance to Ukraine for a four-year period on 1 February 2024. According to media reports, the EU is preparing a plan B with EUR20 billion of financial aid for Ukraine in the event that Hungarian PM Viktor Orban blocks the main EUR50 billion plan.

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