Hungary's Magyar lifts Orbán's veto on EU arms funds for Ukraine - Politico
Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar (Getty Images)
The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has begun changing the previous administration's policy toward Ukraine. One of its first steps was lifting a key veto in the European Union, Politico reports.
According to the outlet, Hungary's new government has lifted its blockade of decisions related to the European Peace Facility (EPF), through which EU countries are reimbursed for weapons supplied to Ukraine.
The shift in Budapest's position was announced by a Hungarian representative during a meeting of the EU's Political and Security Committee. Several European diplomats confirmed the information to Politico.
According to one European diplomat, lifting the EPF veto "will come as a positive reinforcement for those member states that provided most of the support for Ukraine."
"They will now finally get some reimbursement, which will also make the burden-sharing more equal," the source told the outlet.
The European Peace Facility is an EU mechanism that reimburses member states for around 40% of the cost of weapons and ammunition transferred to Ukraine from national military stockpiles.
Because decisions related to the fund require unanimous approval, the government of Viktor Orbán has blocked the payments for two years.
According to Politico, this resulted in more than €40 billion in unpaid reimbursements accumulating. Following the removal of the veto, approximately €6.6 billion could be released immediately.
What the funds could be used for
Following the lifting of the veto, EU countries will need to agree on the future rules governing the use of the fund and the procedure for new reimbursements.
Ukraine has already urged its partners to allocate part of the newly unlocked resources toward the purchase of additional Patriot air defense systems and missiles for them.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on EU countries to use the reimbursed funds to purchase air defense systems from the United States under NATO's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program.
In addition, as Politico previously reported, Hungary is prepared to unblock the launch of Ukraine's EU accession talks following consultations on the rights of the Hungarian minority.
If that happens, Ukraine and Moldova will be able to move on to the next stage of European integration by opening the first negotiating cluster.
