EU plans to provide Ukraine with 20 billion euros in aid, bypassing Hungary

The European Union is preparing a contingency plan to provide Ukraine with assistance of up to €20 billion, independent of Viktor Orban's agreement from Hungary. This plan will be considered at the summit on February 1 if Orban continues to oppose aid to Ukraine.

To implement this plan, EU member states need to provide guarantees to the EU budget. This will enable the European Commission to raise up to €20 billion on capital markets. The terms are still under discussion, and the exact amount of assistance will depend on Ukraine's needs.

The EU previously employed a similar scheme in 2020 to help countries cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, the Commission provided affordable financing of up to €100 billion to support employment. Now, the EU wants to use the same mechanism to aid Ukraine.

This plan does not require the unanimous consent of all EU countries. If high credit-rated countries participate, the EU can bypass Hungary's veto.

Some countries, such as Germany and the Netherlands, will need parliamentary approval to provide national guarantees. Officials hope this will be done in a timely manner to provide assistance to Ukraine by March.

One drawback of this scheme is that it will only provide loans to Ukraine and will not include grants. Member states may decide to grant aid to Ukraine on a bilateral basis.

EU aid to Ukraine

Last year, the European Union proposed allocating €50 billion for Ukraine by 2027. Unanimous approval from all countries is required for such a decision, and Hungary vetoed it.

Earlier, we reported that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, announced that EU countries would approve €50 billion for Ukraine, even without Hungary's consent.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has acknowledged that the EU may allocate €50 billion for Ukraine without his country's approval.