Hungary ready to lift veto on EU aid for Ukraine, conditions named - Politico

According to EU diplomats, Budapest is ready to lift its veto on EU aid to Ukraine, provided that the European Council unanimously approves funding on an annual basis.

"In practical terms, this would give Orban the power to block EU funding to Ukraine every year — or gain concessions from Brussels for withholding his veto," Politico writes.

Hungary formulated the proposal on Friday, January 5, during a meeting of 27 EU budget experts. According to the diplomat, the plan stipulates that the bloc will provide Ukraine with 12.5 billion euros in grants and loans annually. This will amount to 50 billion euros over four years.

"While this is not the first time Hungary has floated this idea, it marks a significant climbdown from Orban’s rhetoric in recent weeks where he opposed any grants to Ukraine from the EU’s budget. But several EU diplomats remain skeptical, pointing out that a year-on-year solution would fail to offer predictability to Ukraine," the publication explains.

According to the diplomat, the MFF is a multi-year program, and therefore cannot be voted on every year.

EU assistance to Ukraine

Last year, the European Union proposed to allocate 50 billion euros for Ukraine until 2027. For such a decision to be approved, absolutely all countries need to agree, but during the last meeting Hungary vetoed it. As Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier, the EU will eventually approve the funding with or without Budapest.

According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the bloc is preparing an alternative plan for financial support for Ukraine in the absence of consensus between the countries.