Hungary ready to lift veto on €50 bln for Ukraine if EU unfreezes €30 bln for Budapest
Photo: Political Director of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Balázs Orbán (twitter.com/BalazsOrban_HU)
The government of Hungary is ready to waive its veto on allocating 50 billion euros in aid from the EU to Ukraine if the European Union unfreezes the earmarked 30 billion euros for Budapest, according to the political director of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Balazs Orban, writes Bloomberg.
The statements by Orban suggest that Hungary may be seeking a high price for its approval, which could be challenging for other bloc countries to accept.
"Hungary’s EU funding and Ukraine’s financing are two separate issues. But if the EU insists that Ukraine’s financing should come from an amended EU budget, then the two issues become linked,” said Balazs Orban, who serves as the premier’s political director.
Hungary is considering supporting Ukraine for a one-year term
The political director of the Hungarian Prime Minister stated that the country continues to oppose a full four-year aid plan and would prefer the EU to offer Ukraine funding for one year without any amendments to the budget. Budapest is also open to the possibility of contributing to this package.
As the EU is expected to allocate around 10 billion euros in funding by Wednesday, following the Hungarian government's adoption of laws aimed at strengthening judicial independence, Orban expressed the desire for the EU to transfer the entire amount - approximately 30 billion euros - that was halted last year due to issues with the rule of law and corruption.
Hungary seeks border reinforcement
Balazs Orban mentioned that during the negotiations on aid to Ukraine, Hungary will consider the EU's proposal to increase funding for border security, a constant demand from Budapest. Additional subsidies from the EU to make the bloc's economy more competitive will also be discussed.
50 billion euro aid package from the EU
In June, the European Commission proposed creating a special mechanism for Ukraine, providing grants and loans totaling up to 50 billion euros until 2027. It is intended to replace the current EU support to Ukraine through the Macro-Financial Assistance Program.
Hungary is the only country regularly attempting to block EU assistance to Ukraine, as well as sanctions against Russia. In November, in a letter addressed to the President of the European Council Charles Michel, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Orban, threatened to block all EU assistance to Ukraine. To overcome Budapest's veto, the European Commission approved advance payments of 900 million euros to Hungary on November 23, which were previously "frozen."
Financial Times reported that Ukraine may not receive the large 50 billion euro financial assistance package from EU countries due to several disagreements within the union.
